Mallika Dureja
According to the Associated Press: In areas of Turkey that were devastated two weeks ago by a tremendous earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people, a new earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck on Monday and caused three deaths and more than 200 injuries, according to the authorities. More structures have collapsed, resulting in the entrapment of some people, and scores of injuries have also been reported in the neighbouring country of Syria.
The epicentre of Monday’s earthquake was located in the town of Defne, which is located in the province of Hatay in Turkey. This region was one of the most severely affected areas by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that occurred on February 6. It was followed by a second earthquake that had a magnitude of 5.8 and was felt as far away as Egypt. It was felt in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, and Israel.
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According to the Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu, there were three fatalities and 213 injuries. There was an active search and rescue operation taking place in three collapsed buildings, where it was suspected that six people were still trapped inside.
According to HaberTurk television, police in Hatay managed to free one person from a structure with three levels while also attempting to access the other three people who were still inside. It was said that among those who were trapped were movers who were assisting people in moving furniture and other possessions out of a building that had been damaged by the powerful earthquake.
According to the Syrian government’s official news agency, SANA, falling debris caused six persons to sustain injuries in Aleppo. White Helmets, a civil defence organisation in northwest Syria, reported more than 130 injuries, the majority of which were non-life threatening. These injuries included fractures and cases of people fainting out of fear, while a number of buildings that were already damaged by the earthquake collapsed.
