There was conflicting information about the damages and victims of the earthquake that struck Turkey, and its devastating effects reached Syria.
The Syrian News Agency (SANA) quoted Ahmad Damiriyeh, the deputy minister of health, as saying that the number of victims of the earthquake that struck the country today, Monday, rose to 326 deaths and 1042 injuries.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, buildings have been completely or partially toppled in 58 villages, towns, and cities in Syria, most of which are within the northwestern regions of Syria, including Lattakia, Hama, and Aleppo within the regime’s areas of influence, Marea, Al-Bab, Azaz, Jandiris, Sarmada, Maarat Misrin, Darkush, Harim, Azmarin, Zardana, Salqin, Ram Hamdan and Jisr Al-Shughour. It also caused damage throughout northwestern Syria.
While rescue teams are still searching for people trapped under dozens of destroyed buildings.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called on international parties to intervene immediately to save the injured and to stand up to the humanitarian catastrophe, in light of the weakness of the Syrian rescue teams.
He added that about 2,000 are missing or injured in the affected areas in northwestern Syria.
⚡️Video showing an entire building collapsing in Turkey after 7.8 earthquake pic.twitter.com/E46tNoKoLF
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 6, 2023
SANA, in turn, stated that the Ministry of Defense mobilized all its units, formations, and institutions in all governorates of the country to provide immediate assistance to the people affected by the earthquake, search for people under the rubble and remove the consequences of the destruction.
The Syrian Civil Defense, which operates in opposition-held areas, said on Monday that the strong earthquake that shook Turkey and northern Syria left "dozens of victims and people trapped under the rubble" of collapsed buildings in the northwest of the country.
The Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, added in a post on Twitter that the volunteer group is working to save the survivors.
The horrors going on in Turkey. A residential home falls to the ground after an earthquake hit Turkey pic.twitter.com/TxRsaVn7kC
— Dami’ Adenuga (@DAMIADENUGA) February 6, 2023
An earthquake measuring 7.9 degrees struck southern Turkey in the early hours of Monday morning and was felt by the residents of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia, and it left dozens dead and injured in Turkey and Syria, in addition to the collapse of a large number of buildings and the siege of dozens under the rubble, and the exit of Residents to the snow-covered streets. There is no accurate toll on the number of dead and wounded, as the numbers are constantly increasing.
The German Center for Geosciences Research said that the quake occurred at a depth of ten kilometers near the city of Kahramanmaraş in southern Turkey, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said that the possibility of a giant tsunami was being assessed.
The earthquake, which occurred early this morning, was felt by residents of Cyprus and Lebanon.
"The situation is very tragic. Dozens of buildings collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organization said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to a town about five kilometers from the Turkish border. The rescuer, who appeared in the clip showing a rubble-strewn street, added that the houses were "completely destroyed."
Buildings destroyed and hundreds of people are feared to have died after an earthquake in Türkiye.
— Turkey 🇹🇷 Syria 🇸🇾 Earthquake 💔 (@Do_Not_Bee_Sad) February 6, 2023
May Allah protect them and have mercy on us.#earthquake #Turkey #Syria 🇹🇷🇸🇾 pic.twitter.com/FjrK3Ea1i5
Many buildings in the area have already suffered damage during the fighting during Syria's nearly 12-year civil war.
Witnesses said that people in Damascus and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli took to the streets and got out in their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed.