New earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: rescue workers now report 6 dead and over 300 injured
Steph Deschamps / February 21, 2023
Two strong earthquakes (6.4 and 5.8) shook again on Monday evening the north of Syria and the Turkish province of Hatay (south), the most affected by the earthquake of February 6 that killed more than 45,000 people in both countries.
Six people died in the 6.4-magnitude tremor that struck the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Monday evening, the state-run Afad relief agency said Tuesday, two weeks after the earthquake that killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey.
Nearly 300 people were hospitalized, including 18 in serious condition, according to the same source.
This new earthquake, considered an aftershock of the first, occurred at 20:04fourteen days after the first and was followed by another 90 aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.8, according to Afad.
At the same time, at least 150 people were injured in the Aleppo region in northwestern Syria, announced the White Helmets, rescue workers who operate in rebel areas in Syria.
The violence of the tremor was felt in several countries in the region, including Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents.
In Antakya, the major city of Hatay province, buildings damaged by the devastating February 6 earthquake collapsed including the governorate headquarters.
Two hospitals in the province were also evacuated Monday night and their patients sheltered in tents.