Turkey-Syria border rocked by 6.4 quake leaving 3 dead and more than 200 injured
Another devastating earthquake has hit the border between Turkey and Syria just two weeks after a tremor killed around 45,000 people
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit the border between Turkey and Syria leaving three dead and more than 200 injured just two weeks after a devastating tremor killed 45,000 people.
Turkey's disaster management agency, AFAD, said the new quake was centred around the town of Defne, in its southern Hatay province.
A second, 5.8 magnitude tremor followed shortly afterwards.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three people were killed and 213 injured.
Search and rescue efforts were underway in three collapsed buildings where six people were believed trapped.The quake, which was also felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt, caused some damaged buildings to collapse, although there were no immediate reports of any casualties, according to Turkey's NTV television service.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that six people were injured in Aleppo by falling debris. The White Helmets, northwest Syria’s civil defence organisation, reported more than 130 injuries.
The latest quake comes two weeks to the day that a 7.8 magnitude tremor brought widespread devastation across Turkey and Syria.
Search and rescue operations for survivors have now been called off in most of the quake zone.
No signs of anyone else being alive have been reported since three members of one family - a mother, father and 12-year-old boy - were rescued from a collapsed building on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the British Turkish Association (BTA) said “life will never be the same again” after Monday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Turkan Akbas, 40, is a solicitor from Hackney, Greater London, and a spokesperson for the British Turkish Association, based in Luton. Ms Akbas said she lost relatives, including her cousin and her cousin’s five-year-old triplets, in the earthquake on February 6. “(I am) devastated,” she told the PA news agency after Monday’s earthquake. “(I am) just worried about everyone back home. “Life will never be the same again… (I have) lost too many loved ones, and sad to see Turkey in the state it is currently in, but we will overcome this with the support of the whole world who have come together to support us.” Ms Akbas said the BTA will continue to send aid including tents, blankets, baby food and hygiene supplies and is raising money to buy container houses for people who have lost their homes.
Tom Colley, a member of HelpAge International’s humanitarian response team who is in Gaziantep, described the scene as “very distressing”. Mr Colley was in a meeting when the earthquake struck and was advised to stay in the hotel. “People are very frightened and are leaving the buildings, fearing the worst,” he said. “Many are still in precarious circumstances after the earthquake a fortnight ago. “This is very distressing.” HelpAge International is the secretariat to a global network of organisations promoting the right of all older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.
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