BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Following the instruction of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the rescue forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan continue search and rescue operations to eliminate the consequences of the deadly earthquake in Türkiye, Trend reports via the ministry.
According to the ministry, Azerbaijani rescuers totally saved 53 people and pulled from the rubble the bodies of 729 people (38 over the past day).
Search and rescue operations involving special equipment, as well as specially trained dogs, are continuing.
Additional information will be provided on the progress of rescue operations.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province. The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, and Kahramanmaras were subjected to severe destruction.
The quake’s epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million. Following the latest data, 31,643 people have been killed, and 80,278 have got injured in the quake.