Over 800 people injured as rescue teams search for survivors in rubble of buildings that collapsed in Turkish city of Izmir; Israel has offered to assist in rescue efforts
Rescue teams on Saturday plowed through concrete blocks and the debris of eight collapsed buildings in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 28 people. More than 800 others were injured.
The quake hit Friday afternoon, toppling buildings in Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, and triggering a small tsunami in the district of Seferihisar and on Samos. The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.
Early on Saturday, onlookers cheered as rescuers lifted teenager Inci Okan out of the rubble of a devastated eight-floor apartment block in Izmir’s Bayrakli district. Her dog, Fistik, was also rescued, Sozcu newspaper reported. Friends and relatives waited outside the building for news of loved ones still trapped inside, including employees of a dental clinic that was located on the ground floor.
In another collapsed building, rescuers made contact with a 38-year-old woman and her four children — aged 3, 7 and 10-year old twins — and were working to clear a corridor to bring them out, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Two other women, aged 53 and 35, were brought out from the rubble of another toppled two-story building earlier on Saturday.
In all, around 100 people have been rescued since the earthquake, Murat Kurum, the environment and urban planning minister, told reporters. It was not clear how many more people were trapped under buildings that were leveled.
Some 5,000 rescue personnel were working on the ground, Kurum said.
At least 26 people were killed in Izmir, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted. Among them was an elderly woman who drowned.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said 831 were injured in Izmir and three other provinces. The health minister said 25 of them were in intensive care.
Two teenagers were killed on Samos after being struck by a collapsing wall. At least 19 people were injured on the island, with two, including a 14-year-old, being airlifted to Athens and seven hospitalized on the island, health authorities said.
The aftershock was reported by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) early on Saturday. It was not immediately clear whether the tremor inflicted more damage on the country.
The devastating earthquake, measured at 6.6 magnitude by Turkish authorities and 7.0 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), struck the Aegean shore on Friday afternoon. More that 470 aftershocks, with at least 35 measuring over 4.0 in magnitude, followed the quake.
Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey, was the worst hit by the earthquake. Several multi-story buildings have been reduced into rubble, with dozens of people trapped inside. Some 100 people have been rescued from the debris, and rescue efforts continue at eight locations.
At least 25 people were killed including one individual who has drowned, latest figures by the Turkish authorities show. Two more people died on the Greek island of Samos. More than 800 people suffered various injuries across the two countries during the disaster.
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