More than 7,200 people were reported dead in Turkey and Syria after the devastating earthquake as search and rescue continue in freezing conditions
Search and rescue teams on Tuesday, February 7 have been working in freezing temperatures to find survivors under the rubble of buildings, after a major earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Official reports as per Reuters now say that the death toll in both countries has exceeded 7,200, as it continues to climb.
Due to the scale of damage, rescue workers are struggling in several towns that have been devastated.
“We could hear their voices, they were calling for help,” said Ali Silo, cited by the Associated Press.
Silo lost two relatives in the Turkish town of Nurdagi after the earthquake struck and had to recover their bodies on his own.
Meanwhile, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan announced that a state of emergency has been imposed in 10 provinces of Turkey for a period of three months.
The government of Turkey estimates that over 13.5 million people have been affected after the earthquake, while tens of thousands have been injured.
As per recent estimates by Fahrettin Koca, Turkey´s health minister, 5,434 people have been reported dead.
The Syrian government has also announced that the death toll in their country has increased to 1,832.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit in the morning of Monday, February 6 and multiple earthquakes after the first one have followed, along with aftershock.
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