Death toll from Turkey earthquakes still increasing

The February devastating earthquakes in Turkey have claimed the lives of at least 48,000 people, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said while visiting the Hatay Province that was hit the most by the earthquakes.

"The death toll has amounted to 48,000, more than 115,000 were injured. Some 50,000 buildings were ruined. And no country could have reacted that swiftly to such a large-scale calamity," the TRT television channel quoted him as saying.

According to the Turkish leader, the country’s authorities mobilized all forces they had to clear the rubble after the quake, despite the cold weather and destroyed roads. "A hundred of countries sent assistance to us, commissioned rescuers. I am very thankful to them," he stressed.

Two powerful 7.7-magnitude and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes rocked Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, located in the country’s southeast, on February 6. The tremors, followed by thousands of aftershocks, were felt in eleven provinces as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria.