Ankara| An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border on Monday. At least 50 people died in this. Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu confirmed that the earthquake was also felt in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus. Addressing journalists, the minister said the earthquake affected 10 cities of Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmania, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis, according to the BBC.
23 deaths were reported in Malatya province, while Sanliurfa in the east recorded 17 deaths.
There were also casualties in Diyarbakır and Osmaniye, but official numbers were not known.
Soylu said, we have established the fourth level alert. It is such an alarm that international aid is involved.
The death toll is expected to rise as many buildings have collapsed. Rescue teams have been deployed to search for those trapped under the debris.
Meanwhile, Syrian state media also reported 42 deaths in the country, but there is no official confirmation yet.
Turkish seismologists said a second earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck the region a few minutes later.
Significantly, Turkey is located in one of the most active earthquake zones in the world.
In 1999, a powerful earthquake struck the northwest of the country, killing more than 17,000 people.
On October 30, 2020, 117 people died when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Izmir.
