The hope for survivors after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is fading. As the rescue work progresses, the number of victims in particular increases. It is now 35,000 dead, and it is likely to be significantly more. Meanwhile, human rights activists are warning of mistreatment in the area.
Almost a week after the earthquake disaster in the Turkish-Syrian border area, the death toll has risen to more than 35,000. In Turkey alone, the number is 29,605, the state news agency Anadolu reported, citing the civil protection authority Afad. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are at least 5,900 in Syria – far more than previously assumed. More than 85,000 people were also injured in the two countries. Thousands more victims are feared.
Countless houses were destroyed in the natural disaster. According to United Nations estimates, the number could rise to 50,000 or more. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told Sky News in the Kahramanmara earthquake area that estimates are difficult but the death toll could “double or more”. “And that’s scary,” he said. The affected areas were initially difficult to access, but as the rescue work progressed, the number of victims increased. There is little chance of finding survivors under the rubble.
Meanwhile, reports of alleged mistreatment are piling up in the disaster area. The Turkey expert from the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern. “Many shocking images are circulating of police officers and civilians beating and brutalizing those alleged to have looted buildings after the quake,” HRW representative Emma Sinclair-Webb wrote on Twitter. Interior and justice ministries have a duty to arrest suspected thieves as well as those who beat people.
The Diyarbakir Bar Association wrote on Twitter that reports of such abuses were reaching worrying proportions. Legal steps would have to be taken. Previously, unverified videos had surfaced on social media purporting to show suspected looters being beaten.
The daily Birgün reported that two men from Hatay said they were beaten by security forces after being mistaken for looters. But they only wanted to get medicine for their families. The online medium Diken reported that five volunteers were mistreated in Adiyaman. The reports could not be independently verified.
Early Monday morning, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 according to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) shook the Turkish-Syrian border area. Another earthquake of magnitude 7.6 followed in the same region on Monday afternoon. In the days that followed, there were more than 2,000 aftershocks, according to Turkish sources. In the civil war country Syria, the north is affected. From there there is only sparse information about the situation.
In Turkey, there was severe damage from the tremors in ten provinces. A three-month state of emergency has now come into force there. Several arrest warrants have been issued in southern Turkey. The accused are said to be responsible for construction defects that would have favored the collapse of the building, reported the state news agency Anadolu, citing prosecutors.
