Turkey’s death toll rises to 29 amid hunt for quake survivors
ANKARA, Turkey — The death toll from a strong earthquake that rocked eastern Turkey climbed to 29 Saturday as rescue crews searched for people who remained trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, officials said.
Speaking at a televised news conference near the epicenter of the quake in Elazig province, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 18 people were killed in Elazig and four in neighboring Malatya.
Some 1,243 people were injured, with 34 of them in intensive care but not in critical condition, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
On Saturday afternoon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the hardest-hit areas and attended the funeral of a mother and son killed in the quake. He warned people against repeating “negative” hearsay about the country being unprepared for earthquakes.
“Do not listen to rumors, do not listen to anyone’s negative, contrary propaganda, and know that we are your servants,” Erdogan said.
Various earthquake monitoring centers gave magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 6.8. for the earthquake, which hit Friday night near the Elazig province town of Sivrice, the
Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said.
It was followed by 398 aftershocks, the strongest of them with magnitudes 5.4 and 5.1, the disaster agency said.
Emergency workers and security forces distributed tents, beds and blankets as overnight temperatures dropped below freezing in the affected areas. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake.
AFAD reported that 42 people had been rescued as search teams combed wrecked apartment buildings.