Death toll surpasses 22,000 after Türkiye's earthquakes
Rescuers stay silent as they try to hear a response from a potential survivor, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. (Reuters Photo)


The death toll from Monday's major earthquakes in Türkiye surpassed 22,000, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Saturday.

Koca said that 22,327 people died and 80,278 others were injured following Monday's catastrophic quakes.

Speaking to the media, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said: "Healthcare services are being provided with no letup in all our provinces."

Saying that there are enough healthcare personnel on the ground, Koca called on health volunteers to not "move outside of the planning of the provincial health directorate so as not to cause chaos."

More than 166,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, according to an earlier Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) statement.

Almost 92,700 people have been evacuated from quake-hit regions so far, AFAD said.

In a media briefing, AFAD's Orhan Tatar said the 7.7 magnitude earthquake released energy as powerful as 500 atomic bombs.

Tatar also dismissed the social media claims of volcanic activity in southern Kahramanmaraş' Göksu district after the powerful earthquakes, saying that "there is no lava flow, volcanic ash, oil or gas emission in the region."

He added: "According to our observations, the incident (in Goksu) is nothing more than a simple mass movement triggered by the earthquake and that we see very often after tremors."

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the span of nine hours, with Syria's death toll nearing 3,400.