Turkey Earthquake: Twitter Restricted Across Country, Hampers Rescue Efforts, Says Report

Twitter was being restricted "on multiple internet providers in Turkey," according to the social media monitor netblocks.org.

A collapsed building during ongoing rescue searches in Hatay, southeastern Turkey

Source : File Photo/AFP

New Delhi: As online criticism of the government's response to this week's deadly earthquake mounted, Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish mobile providers on Wednesday, reported news agency AFP. The social media platform was unavailable to AFP reporters in Turkey. VPN services that hide a user's location made it still accessible.

Twitter was being restricted "on multiple internet providers in Turkey," according to the social media monitor netblocks.org.

"Turkey has an extensive history of social media restrictions during national emergencies and safety incidents," the monitor added.

Since the earthquake on Monday, social media posts that criticised President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's administration's handling of the disaster have led Turkish police to detain more than a dozen individuals.

At least 11,200 people were killed in southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria by Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks.

The political opposition and people living in the disaster area accused the government of a tardy and inadequate relief effort for the earthquake on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

As President Tayyip Erdogan visited the affected region for the first time and acknowledged some issues with the initial response, the outrage grew louder. 

“Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can get them out,” said Sabiha Alinak said as she stood near a snow-covered, collapsed building in the city of Malatya where her young relatives were trapped.

People have been posting on Turkish social media about how little search and rescue work is being done in their provinces.

Erdogan was touring two of the most affected Turkish provinces at the same time as the Twitter outage.

There were no immediate statements from Turkish officials regarding the service disruption.

However, in advance of the crucial May 14 election, in which Erdogan will attempt to extend his two-decade rule, they had issued repeated warnings about the dissemination of false information.