Earthquake in western Turkey kills one, injures dozens

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck Sindirgi in western Turkey on August 10th with devastating effects, as reported by The New Arab via AFP.

According to the Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD), one person has been confirmed to have been killed in the earthquake, and dozens have suffered from injuries. The effects of the quake were experienced in several cities in Western Turkey, including Istanbul and Izmir.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya spoke to a journalist regarding the disastrous effects. He said, “An 81-year-old person died soon after having been rescued from under the rubble.” He also added, “Another 29 people had been injured, but not seriously.” 

The fallout of the quake included the collapse of 16 buildings in Sindrigi and its surrounding areas. “Four of these buildings were inhabited, including a three-storey building in the centre of the city,” Yerlikaya has revealed.

Multiple people were pulled from the rubble of this building, alive. Six people lived there. The victim of the natural disaster, unfortunately, was buried under the rubble before being freed, passing away shortly after.

Turkish Mayor Serkan Sak has spoken to Turkish private channel NTV, and said that “four were rescued from the rubble,” and that “efforts to extract two others were ongoing.”

AFAD has also said that around 319 first responders were deployed to the affected zone. According to the agency, the quake occurred at 7:53 PM, with an estimated 20 aftershocks ranging from 3.5 to 4.6 magnitude.

Turkey has experienced plenty of catastrophes, primarily caused by the fact that the country is crisscrossed by several geological fault lines.

It experienced an earthquake in February 2023 in the southwest, which killed at least 53,000 people and wrecked Antakya, the site of Antioch, an ancient Turkish city. The quake on February 6th, 2023, caused many survivors in Turkey to experience hardship and suffering, particularly for those observing Ramadan at the time. Those who lost loved ones struggled to find the meaning of Ramadan, and many communities in southern Turkey were broken by the disaster.

The New Arab via AFP, Maghrebi.org