The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria last Monday, February 6, rises to 38,905 dead, according to the latest estimates. There are 29,605 confirmed victims in Turkey and almost 9,300 in Syria. Here in particular, the number of casualties “will continue to rise as we gain access to the affected areas,” WHO Regional Emergency Manager Rick Brennan said during a press conference in Damascus, quoted by SkyNews.
Saturday February 11th. A UN official said those numbers could double. “‘I think it’s really hard to say exactly because we’re still digging under the rubble, but I’m sure it (the death toll) will double or continue’, United Nations, Martin Griffiths
The Turkish authorities yesterday arrested more than 100 construction workers in the 10 provinces hit by last Monday’s earthquake: they are people linked to some of the collapsed buildings and suspected of violating the country’s building regulations. This was reported by the Anadolu news agency.
In fact, the Justice Department has authorized nearly 150 local prosecutors to set up “earthquake-related crime investigative units”: prosecutors can initiate criminal cases against any “builders and perpetrators” of building collapses who have failed to comply with existing codes following a similar disaster in the were introduced in 1999.
One such entrepreneur is Mehmet Yasar Coskun, who is responsible for the construction of a 12-story, 250-apartment luxury residential complex in the earthquake-ravaged Hatay province. The man was arrested at Istanbul Airport on Friday while trying to leave the country for Montenegro, Anadolu said. Istanbul prosecutors ordered his arrest after discovering his flight plans.
RESCUE
A seven-month-old baby was rescued in Antakya district in southern Turkey’s Hatay province after being trapped in rubble for 140 hours. This was reported by the Turkish state news agency Anadolu. In the Nizip district of the same province, an unknown aged girl was pulled from the rubble 146 hours after the earthquake. Also in Hatay Province, Antakya District, a 35-year-old man was rescued by Turkish and Romanian rescue workers after 149 hours.
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