7.9 magnitude earthquake in Turkey

At least 15 people died in the provinces of Osmaniye (south) and Sanliurfa (southeast) after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey reported the provincial governors. Ten people were killed in Sanliurfa province, Governor Salih Ayhan told NTV television, after the state agency Anadolu reported an initial death toll of five in Osmaniye.

the turkish president Recep Tayip Erdogan it said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the affected areas. “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least amount of damage”he added.

There were at least 6 aftershocksand urged people not to enter damaged buildings due to risks, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

In the northwest of SyriaThe Syrian Civil Defense opposition group called the situation in the rebel-held region “disastrous” with entire buildings collapsed and people trapped in the rubble. He urged the population to evacuate the buildings and gather in open areas.

He United States Geological Survey indicated that the epicenter of the earthquake was located about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the city of Gaziantep, provincial capital. It was recorded at a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles), he added. About 10 minutes later an aftershock of 6.7 occurred.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, AFAD, said the earthquake It had a magnitude of 7.4 with an epicenter in Pazarcik, in the province of Kahramanmaras.

The southern region of Gaziantep It is an important industrial and manufacturing center of Turkey.

In Sanliurfa, at least 10 deaths have been confirmed, according to Governor Salih Ayhan.

ALSO READ: Life expectancy in a violent country can be reduced by 14 years

Several buildings collapsed in the neighboring provinces of Malatya and Diyarbakir, reported the HaberTurk television network. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The state press of Syria reported the collapse of some buildings in the city of Aleppo, in the north of the country, as well as in the central city of Hama.

In Damascusthe buildings shook and many terrified people took to the streets.

The quake roused residents of Lebanon from their beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many of the inhabitants of Beirut left their houses on the streets or drove their vehicles to areas far from construction.

Prepared with information from AFP and AP