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Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that at least six people were killed after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Turkey and Syria on Monday night.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 294 others were injured.
The earthquake struck near Dafni in the Samandag region, but was felt as far as Jordan, Israel and Egypt.
“We had just arrived in Gaziantep when we felt the earthquake. Our car started shaking — for about 10 seconds. We immediately thought it was an earthquake because we were using an alert app. Then we saw people run out of buildings here at the scene,” DW correspondent Julia Han said of the accident.
“That’s when we knew she was strong.”
The first quake was followed by a second tremor with a magnitude of 5.8.
The earthquakes on Monday night came just before the arrival of two senior German politicians in southeastern Turkey to pledge continued support.
An eyewitness said that people left their homes on the streets and that no one wanted to go home.
Lotvu Savas, the mayor of Hatay, said a number of buildings had collapsed, trapping people who had returned to their homes or were trying to move furniture from their damaged homes.
“It was strong like the first one, but it didn’t last long… It scared people and people rushed into the streets,” said Abdul Kafi, a Syrian activist in northwest Syria.
The event sparked panic and a stampede in Syria, with some people jumping off buildings, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
This comes two weeks after two major earthquakes devastated the same area, leaving at least 47,000 people dead.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said more than 6,000 aftershocks had been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6.
German ministers visit the earthquake-stricken area
German Foreign Minister Analina Berbock and Interior Minister Nancy Weser arrived in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday.
They are scheduled to visit the badly damaged cities of Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras.
“Our sympathy is inexhaustible with words and will not diminish when the disaster and its aftermath hit other headlines,” Burbuck said on Tuesday.
New earthquakes bring new terror
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The Bundeswehr has already delivered more than 340 tons of aid to Turkey.
On Tuesday, the Air Force is scheduled to deliver another 13 tons of aid, including 100 tents, 400 beds and more than 1,000 sleeping bags.
This is in addition to the German search and rescue teams that assisted in the relief effort.
Meanwhile, the German government has also pledged nearly 50 million euros (about $53 million) in humanitarian aid to people in Syria.
US pledges to help Turkey ‘as long as it takes’
Hours before the latest earthquake, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on a visit to Turkey, vowed that the US government would help “as long as it takes.”
Blinken pledged another $100 million in disaster aid after a helicopter tour of the devastated Hatay province.
On Monday, Blinken met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Blinken met Erdogan, just before flying the Turkish leader to Hatay, which was devastated by the previous earthquake. Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/AFP/Getty Images
Erdogan said construction work for about 200,000 apartments in 11 quake-hit provinces in Turkey would begin next month.
Blinken also praised the work of the Syrian White Helmets and search and rescue teams that helped earthquake victims in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition.
Steinmeier calls for permanent help for earthquake victims
On Monday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Germans to show “permanent solidarity” with those affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.
“Even after images of earthquakes have been replaced in the daily news, our humanity is still needed,” Steinmeier said.
He was speaking at an event in Berlin to commemorate the earthquake victims, organized by the Turkish community in Germany and the VDSH association of German-Syrian aid organisations.
In Turkey, Syrian refugees find hate and help
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zc, lo/nm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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