The death toll from a powerful earthquake has risen to 812 in Syria, while 1,449 people have been injured, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2023) The death toll from a powerful earthquake has risen to 812 in Syria, while 1,449 people have been injured, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Earlier reports indicated that 711 people were killed and 1,431 were injured.
"In the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama ... Idlib, Tartus, the number of victims increased to 812 people, and 1,449 were injured," the ministry said in a statement.
Mads Brinch Hansen, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Syria, put the number of deaths at 1,509. A further 3,548 people were injured in the quake, which collapsed at least 175 homes, he told a UN briefing in Geneva.
The death toll is expected to climb as more bodies are being recovered from the rubble. The IFRC estimates that 50,000 families are in dire need of assistance, with some 4,000 left homeless by the 7.8 magnitude quake that shook the region in the early hours of Monday.
Syrian Civil Defense Chief General Saied Awad told Sputnik that tremors had torn down around 150 buildings in northwestern Syria and damaged hundreds others.
"Sixty-five buildings were completely destroyed in (the city of) Latakia and around 75 in (the city of) Aleppo. Most of them were five floors high. A dozen homes were destroyed in (the city of) Hama. Hundreds more are vulnerable to collapse," the official said, adding that search-and-rescue efforts were hampered by lack of equipment.
Neighboring Turkey says it was the most powerful earthquake recorded in the country since 1939. It was followed by more than 78 aftershocks and a second quake of 7.5 magnitude. The number of deaths in Turkey passed 3,400 on Tuesday. A rescue operation is underway to locate survivors.
