PodcastMain opposition calls on gov’t to share ‘correct’ quake death toll with missing reports on the rise
Main opposition CHP deputy Müzeyyen Şevkin has said that the official earthquake death toll does not reflect the truth and called on the government to share the “correct figures.” She said that many in the earthquake zone are still searching for their missing family members and the database of the missing people is not included in the official number.
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Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Müzeyyen Şevkin has said the number of missing persons reports is on the rise and called on the government to release the “correct figures” with regards to the number of citizens who lost their lives in two major earthquakes on Feb. 6.
Şevkin made the comments after she visited the quake-hit Hatay province last week. “When we look at the severe rubble, the number of demolished buildings, and the missing persons reports, we have the suspicion that the officially reported 46,000 killed people is in fact much more. What the government needs to do is to remove this rubble immediately, hand people their funerals and share with citizens the correct figures,” Şevkin was quoted as saying by ANKA news agency on March 7.
According to the official figures as of March 7, the number of citizens who have died in the earthquakes stands at 46,104, but experts fear that the number is much higher, taking into consideration the thousands of buildings that collapsed.
Şevkin said that several people have been still looking for their beloved ones, unable to locate them and hanging missing person posters all over in the quake region. “In a similar way, we have been receiving several phone calls. People are looking for their relatives,” she said.
The deputy also said that although more than one month has passed by since the major earthquakes, citizens are still “unable to reach tents, clean water, clean toilets, underwear and healthy accommodation circumstances.”
“Citizens are demolishing their greenhouses and trying to fit their relatives, friends, at least 25-30 people, there. What the government needs to do is to accelerate the rubble-removing works, hand people their beloved ones’ mortal remains, to bring them tents and water. Clear water is the most important right,” she said.
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