Current location:entertainment >>
Feature: Race against time to find survivors at epicenter of Türkiye's massive earthquakes
entertainment5People have gathered around
IntroductionRescuers search for survivors on the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Kahr ...
Rescuers search for survivors on the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Zhenbei)
"We have found survivors here, but also corpses. We can't abandon the search, the next hours will be crucial to find people still alive," said Mehmet, a Turkish rescuer.
by Burak Akinci
KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers were racing against time and a bitter cold to find survivors in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of two huge and deadly earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria on Monday.
"We have found survivors here, but also corpses. We can't abandon the search, the next hours will be crucial to find people still alive," Mehmet, a Turkish rescuer, told Xinhua on Tuesday.
His team was searching for trapped residents under a mound of rubble that used to be the Ebrar apartment complex, flattened by two powerful tremors.
Once in a while, they ask anguished people who gathered around the rubble searching for family members or volunteers to remain completely silent as they listen out for someone to call for help.
Photo taken on Feb. 7, 2023 shows a damaged car after a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye. (Xinhua/Li Zhenbei)
Residents were asleep when a magnitude 7.7 quake jolted Kahramanmaras and several other neighboring provinces before dawn.
A second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck several hours later, complicating rescue efforts.
"The problem here is that if there are other survivors, they had to endure the cold which can cause hypothermia, and their chances of survival are getting slim," Mehmet noted.
The rescuer explained that the complex that collapsed like a house made of cards was home to some 120 residents, most of whom are still believed to be under a mass of metal and concrete.
Throughout Monday, dozens of major aftershocks rattled the region.
The latest official death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye stood at 5,894 with 34,810 injuries early Wednesday. Over 6,000 buildings have collapsed, but authorities believe that the actual number is much higher.
Thousands of rescue workers were scattered across the vast quake-hit zone, which covers 10 provinces of Türkiye, home to around 13.5 million people.
But as the quakes have also seriously disrupted the zone's infrastructure, making highways and roads inaccessible, some cities were left mostly unattended, Xinhua correspondents witnessed.
This aerial photo taken on Feb. 7, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after a powerful earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Rescuers worked through the cold winter night in the hope of being able to find more survivors, but as time went by, the chance of finding people alive was diminishing.
Turkish social media users were also using Twitter to relay to authorities and rescue teams the exact locations of many people who used their cell phones to locate where they were trapped underneath the buildings.
Survivors of the biggest disaster that Türkiye has witnessed for nearly a century were trying to live in their cars as there was no electricity and no other buildings left to accommodate them in Kahramanmaras.
But gasoline was scarce, and heating remained a serious problem, so did drinking water.
In Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Malatya, three provinces hit by the quakes, survivors took shelter in community centers where they were given blankets and food, television channels reported.
Mosques in the region were also opened to provide shelter.
People warm themselves around a fire in Gaziantep province, Türkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Zhenbei)
"Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday in a televised address in the capital Ankara.
The World Health Organization warned that the death toll in the two countries could end up surpassing 20,000.
The earthquake-stricken region in Türkiye is also home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war in their homeland.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Cultural Compass news portal”。http://poland.brianlynch.org/content-59d099865.html
Related articles
Kosovo prepares a new draft law on renting prison cells to Denmark after the first proposal failed
entertainmentPRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s Cabinet renewed efforts with a new draft law on renting a prison in ...
Read morePhilippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
entertainmentMANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines blamed Chinese fishermen on Monday for a massive loss of ...
Read moreAdams, Reyna, Turner, Ream are US concerns ahead of Copa America
entertainmentNEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Matt Turner and Tim Ream will be given the three weeks ahead ...
Read more
Popular articles
- Tom Brady and Jay
- Kevin Pillar gets 1,000th career hit in Angels' win at Texas
- Adams, Reyna, Turner, Ream are US concerns ahead of Copa America
- Devout Christian doctor, 68, who punched dementia
- Amir Khan's £11.5m luxury wedding venue finally hosts its first marriage: Bride arrives on horse
- OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
Latest articles
Yvette Fielding says her Most Haunted co
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry
Dodgers acquire pitcher Yohan Ramírez from Mets for cash
Baby Reindeer's real
Socialite Jasmine Hartin enjoys beach snuggle with electrician hunk
Four people killed in a house explosion in southwestern Missouri
LINKS
- Journalist and commentator Rod Oram dies after cycling accident
- Woman's death after electric blanket fire triggers warning from Coroner
- Judge Denies Trump Relief From $83.3 Million Defamation Judgment
- 'Not just Māori but all of us'
- Facing moral questions in a time of 'massive, collective structural problems'
- Department of Conservation set to lose scientific expertise in job cuts
- Report recommends councillors don't support plan for second Auckland harbour crossing
- China lifting lockdown of Hubei province
- Kate's cancer diagnosis updates: Reactions from around the world
- Probe after teens die in off