4 FRENCH DEAD
Four French nationals are among the victims of the violent earthquake that occurred in Turkey and Syria on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
“At this time, we deplore four French victims,” he told AFP, adding that they all died in Turkey. The Quai d’Orsay adds that it is following “with the greatest attention the situation of the French present in the area at the time of the earthquakes, in conjunction with the Turkish authorities”.
To ensure their protection, the Ministry’s Crisis and Support Center and the French Embassy in Ankara have opened crisis cells.
ASSAD WITH THE VICTIMS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Friday the bedside of earthquake victims in Aleppo (north), for the first time since the earthquake which killed more than 3,300 people in his country, announced the presidency.
Syrian state media released footage of the head of state, accompanied by his wife Asma, at the bedside of victims at Aleppo University Hospital, in his first visit to stricken areas since Monday’s quake which also hit hard touched Turkey.
MINUTE OF SILENCE
On all the grounds where L1 and L2 matches are taking place, this weekend, a minute of silence will be observed, “in tribute to the victims of the terrible earthquake which affected Turkey and Syria”, indicates the Football League professional.
In tribute to the victims of the terrible earthquake which affected Turkey and Syria, all the kick-offs of the matches of the 23rd day of Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT will be preceded this weekend by a minute of meditation. @Ligue1UberEats @Ligue2BKT — Professional Football League (@LFPfr) February 10, 2023
AID DEPLOYED ON ONLY 10% OF BUILDINGS
“The only way to access these people is with heavy machinery,” continues the architect. According to him, teams are deployed only on 10% of the 6500 collapsed buildings, whose collapse has been confirmed. “It still means that there are more than 600 teams on the ground, it’s colossal,” he adds, also referring to “access difficulties”. The rescuers “are ready, doing what they can”, he also estimated, reacting to the criticisms addressed by many survivors and relatives to the Turkish government, affirming that the teams were slow to intervene in their area.
Ultimately, “we can approach 50,000 dead”, he lamented. “I hope it ends there, but I don’t believe it, it’s not possible.”
“THE WORST SCENARIO”
Can we still save survivors, five days after the disaster? “In theory yes, in practice we have to hope”, explains on LCI Patrick Coulombel, architect of the emergency. “People have survived for fifteen days, it has already happened, when they had access to water, food, and were not too cold,” he continues. “In a good week, there will be no one”, no more survivors, he judged. On the other hand, “if there is water and people are not injured”, the chances of survival go up.
But in Turkey and Syria, locals were surprised in their sleep, so they were scantily clad, despite the freezing weather. “It’s the worst case scenario, at these temperatures, you shouldn’t dream. The weather conditions are not good, we lack satellite images of the destruction”, but also “information”, because of “the cloud cover which does not allow the passage of satellites, good quality imagery”, but also “broken infrastructures”, deplores the expert.
MORE HOPES
More than 100 hours after the violent earthquake that killed more than 21,700 people in Turkey and Syria, the hope of finding survivors is dwindling. However, stories of exceptional rescues are multiplying. A father and son were rescued from the rubble 76 hours after the disaster, and two teenage girls 100 hours later.
INTERNATIONAL AID SHORT OF STOCKS IN SYRIA
The United Nations-affiliated World Food Program (WFP) said it was running out of supplies in northwest Syria and called for more border crossings to be opened from Turkey.
“Northwest Syria, where 90% of the population depends on humanitarian aid, is very worrying. We have reached the populations there, but we must replenish our stocks,” Corinne Fleischer told reporters. regional director of WFP in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, quoted by The Guardian. “We are running out of stock and need access to bring in new stock,” she insisted.
Hello everyone, and welcome to this new direct report on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.