Many are feared dead as a deadly earthquake hit south-eastern Turkey near the Syrian border on Monday causing many buildings to crash and cars crushed under the rubbles.
The big earthquake hit near Gaziantep town with many people in affected buildings yet to be rescued. Many people were unable to exit their buildings as the crash happened unexpectedly leaving many of them stuck inside the collapsed buildings.
More than 1700 buildings have collapsed from the tremor that hit the earth and the tremors from the crash was felt even in Lebanon and Cyprus, Al Jazeera reported.
Countries from across the world have pledged support to Turkey in this critical period . Qatar pledged to send relief flights to transport search and rescue teams to the earthquake-affected zones along with vehicles, a field hospital, tents and other supplies, its state news agency reported.
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Qatar-funded Qatar Charity said it was distributing 27,000 hot meals in Gaziantep, where it has an office, and was supplying relief items to shelters in Turkey and Syria.
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says its emergency teams are ready to be deployed to Turkey and Syria.
“We are shocked by the devastating earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria at the height of a harsh winter,” UNOCHA said on Twitter.
We are shocked by the devastating earthquake that hit #Türkiye and #Syria at the height of a harsh winter.
Our teams are assessing the damage with #UNDAC emergency response and search and rescue teams ready to deploy. pic.twitter.com/Of9YboQAn4
Related News — UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) February 6, 2023
The UN secretary has also tweeted condolence to the government of Turkey and Syria
I am deeply saddened by the news of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye & Syria, and offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims.
The @UN stands ready to support emergency response efforts.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 6, 2023
An Al Jazeera reporter on the scene said at least 10 cities have been affected by the earthquake.
“We are talking about a vast geography,” Koseoglu said. “We are talking about at least 10 million people who live in these cities. This is a tough task for the Turkish authorities and local rescue workers to deal with.”
“We are hearing that rescue workers have not even been able to reach some of the places,” she added.
