Death toll from deadly quakes in Türkiye surpasses 16,500
An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the rubble of collapsed buildings in the city of Kahramanmaraş, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023.(EPA Photo)


The death toll from the deadly earthquakes in Türkiye rose to 16,546 as of Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during speech in Osmaniye.

The number of injured also rose to 66,132, the president noted.

Earlier the Turkish Disaster and Earthquake Management Authority (AFAD) shared that over 1,052 aftershocks took place following the two major earthquakes since Monday.

Inspecting rescue and relief efforts earlier during the week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said a total of 6,444 buildings were destroyed in the earthquakes that struck 10 provinces, affecting 13 million people.

Visiting Hatay province on Wednesday, which is one of the worst quake-hit areas, Erdoğan pledged to take all necessary steps to prevent the suffering of the earthquake victims.

"As we speak, 21,200 personnel, including soldiers, gendarmerie and police, are taking part in rescue efforts in Hatay," the president said.

The Turkish president said at least 60,000 accredited volunteers, including those from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and foreign teams, are involved in earthquake search and rescue efforts.

Türkiye has mobilized all the resources for post-quake efforts, Erdoğan said in an earlier visit to Kahramanmaraş, adding: "The state is working with municipalities, especially with AFAD, with all its means."

According to AFAD, more than 98,150 search and rescue personnel are currently conducting operations in the field. "As a result of the negotiations with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, 5,309 personnel coming from other countries for help were dispatched to the disaster area," it added.

Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams were also sent to the affected areas.

A total of 70,818 family tents have been set up to shelter survivors, the AFAD added.

It said that 5,514 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and bulldozers, were also sent to the disaster area.

In a press briefing, Vice President Fuat Oktay said the total number of personnel on the ground, including those from security forces, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) and others NGOs, volunteers as well as health teams and ministries, is 103,800.

Oktay said temporary shelters with a capacity of nearly 1.2 million have been established in the affected areas.

On energy-related malfunctions, the vice president said the delivery of natural gas to the disaster area will begin in a controlled manner.

For search and rescue operations to be carried out rapidly, Türkiye on Tuesday announced a state of emergency for three months in 10 provinces, Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa.

Türkiye is observing a seven-day national mourning after the devastating quakes.