Turkish earthquake death toll reaches 44,370 people

The number of victims of devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye has reached 44,370, said Yunus Sezer, head of the Turkish Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

According to him, search and rescue operations have been completed at the site of nearly 21,000 buildings destroyed by the quakes.

“Now we are completely focused on clearing the rubble,” said Sezer, according to Anadolu.

The head of the department added that more than 230,000 civil servants are currently involved in the aftermath of the disaster.

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than seven points occurred in the southeast of Türkiye (at 04:17 am local time - 7.7 points and at 1:24 pm local time - 7.6 points).

The devastating earthquake was also felt in neighbouring countries, including Syria, Lebanon, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Greek Cyprus, and Iraq.