A new 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday killed three people and injured more than 200 in parts of Turkiye laid waste two weeks ago by a massive quake that killed tens of thousands, authorities said. More buildings collapsed, trapping some people, while scores of injuries were recorded in neighboring Syria too.
Monday’s earthquake was centered in the town of Defne, in Turkiye’s Hatay province, one the worst-hit regions in the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck on Feb. 6. It was felt in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Israel and as far away as Egypt, and followed by a second, magnitude 5.8 temblor.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 6 people were killed and 213 injured. Search and rescue efforts were underway in three collapsed buildings where six people were believed trapped.
In Hatay, police rescued one person trapped inside a three-story building and were trying to reach three others inside, HaberTurk television reported. It said those trapped included movers helping people shift furniture and other belongings from the building that was damaged in the massive quake.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that six people were injured in Aleppo by falling debris. The White Helmets, northwest Syria’s civil defense organization, reported more than 130 injuries, most of them non-life threatening, including fractures and cases of people fainting from fear, while a number of buildings in areas already damaged by the quake collapsed.
The Feb. 6 quake killed nearly 45,000 people in both countries — the vast majority of them in Turkiye, where more than a million and a half people are in temporary shelters. Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since.
In the Syrian city of Idlib, frightened residents were preparing to sleep in parks and other public places, while fuel lines formed at gas stations as people attempted to get as far as possible from any buildings that might collapse.
