Death Toll from Türkiye, Syria Quake Tops 47,000

The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244. AFP
The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244. AFP
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Death Toll from Türkiye, Syria Quake Tops 47,000

The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244. AFP
The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244. AFP

The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered Turkish province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has raised the number of fatalities in Türkiye from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake to 43,556.

The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244.

In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in Hatay in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said.

Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s minister for the environment and urbanization.

Türkiye will widen an investigation into building contractors suspected of violating safety standards following the earthquake, Soylu said.

He added that 564 suspects had been identified so far, with 160 people formally arrested and many more still under investigation.

"Our cities will be built in the right places, our children will live in stronger cities. We know what kind of test we are facing, and we will come out of this stronger," he said.

The local civil defense in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents “fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake.”



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
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Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.