The combined death toll in Turkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244
Gokhan Serp, a 32-year-old Turkish man, feeds his birds at a makeshift camp next to the new Hatay stadium in Antakya, southern Turkey, on February 22, 2023. Photo/AFP
The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkiye and Syria on February 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation.
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Here's a look at the key developments on Thursday from the aftermath of the earthquake.
DEATH TOLL TOPS 47,000
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has raised the number of fatalities in Turkiye from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake to 43,556.
The combined death toll in Turkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244.
In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in hard-hit Hatay province in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said.
Also read: Turkey bans layoffs, offers salary support in earthquake zone
Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Turkiye's minister for the environment and urbanisation.
SYRIANS SHELTER IN TENTS AND CARS
The local civil defence in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said on Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents "fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake".
In government-held Syria, a first plane from Bahrain loaded with aid landed in Damascus. The Gulf monarchy is among many Arab countries that in recent years have tried to thaw relations with President Bashar Assad, after shunning him in 2011 for his brutal crackdown on protesters.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two key US allies in the region, have also delivered aid.
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