Death toll from strong earthquake in Turkey's İzmir continues to increase amid ongoing rescue efforts

Duvar English

The death toll from the 6.6 magnitude earthquake in the Aegean province of İzmir continues to increase amid ongoing search and rescue efforts.

Turkish authorities said on Nov. 2 that the death toll rose to 92, while the number of those wounded topped 994.

Officials said 20 buildings were destroyed in İzmir's Bayraklı district which was in the process of urban transformation due to lack of earthquake resistance.

Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, two powerful quakes killed 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey.

The earthquake of Oct. 30, which the Istanbul-based Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, was centered in the Aegean Sea, northeast of the Greek island of Samos.

Residents of the area have spent two nights outside, trying to warm themselves with blankets.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Bayraklı on Oct. 31 under tight security measures that were slammed on social media.

Dramatic scenes emerged from the rescue efforts, with a rescue worker seen crying next to the rubble after pulling out the dead body of a 2-year-old child and their parents.

Turkey Caving Association Search and Rescue member Tahsin Kaymak was consoled by his co-workers.

A 70-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of a flattened building early on Nov. 1 after being buried under the debris for 33 hours.

The man, identified as Ahmet Çitim, was rescued from the rubble of the residential "Rıza Bey" building, one of the 20 residencies that collapsed during the earthquake.

Another man was rescued from under the rubble 26 hours after the earthquake.

Sixteen-year-old İnci Okan was trapped under the rubble of the same 8-story building as the elderly man before being rescued 17 hours after the strong quake, along with her dog Fıstık (Pistachio).

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) member Edanur Doğan visited Okan at hospital.

Emergency worker Doğan had held the girl's hand while rescue teams removed the debris above her.

"I am very happy. Thankfully my father was not at home. My father couldn't fit there. He would hurt his head. I am tiny. I am short so I squeezed in and that's how I was rescued. We stayed home with my dog. Both of us are well," Okan said from her hospital bed.

Okan promised to play the violin for Doğan after being discharged from hospital.

"I will play the violin for you, I promise."

Health Minister warns against coronavirus spread

Separately, Minister Koca on Nov. 1 warned against the spread of the coronavirus, saying that the conditions in İzmir became suitable for it.

"We were all concerned about saving lives after the earthquake. We may have ignored coronavirus measures. Let's show the necessary caution again," Koca told reporters.