President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the latest situation regarding the earthquakes that shook southeast Türkiye on Monday with political party leaders in the country.
Erdoğan spoke with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairperson Devlet Bahçeli and evaluated the situation in the disaster zone, including search and rescue operations.
He also spoke with Good Party (IP) Chairperson Meral Akşener and discussed the recent developments in the earthquake zone.
The president also discussed the situation with opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) Chair Ali Babacan, Felicity (Saadet) Party Chair Temel Karamollaoğlu and Homeland (Anavatan) Party Chair Ibrahim Çelebi, according to a statement by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake centered in the Pazarcık district of Türkiye's Kahramanmaraş struck at 4.17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT) at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles). It was followed by another magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the afternoon, resulting in the deaths of at least 2,921 people and 15,834 others.
Neighboring provinces, including fire departments and search and rescue teams from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) and the surrounding district municipalities, hastened to the earthquake zone in a show of solidarity. Search and rescue teams gathered at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport, initiating their expeditious deployment to earthquake-affected areas via scheduled flights.
