More than three weeks after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, the death toll continues to rise. More than 50,000 people have died in the region, according to a new report. It was markedly overvalued upwards on the Syrian side.
Assessment in Syria is ‘nearly final’
The death toll in Syria stands at 5,951, according to a report compiled on Tuesday based on cross-checks from multiple sources. The latest death toll in Turkey, provided Sunday by the Turkish State Disaster Management Agency, is 44,374. The total death toll from the earthquake in the two countries is 50,325.
Prior to this new count, previous casualties recorded by AFP in Syria were 3,688 dead. In government-controlled areas, the Syrian Ministry of Health recorded 1,414 deaths, the balance sheet remained unchanged. In the regions not controlled by Damascus, bordering Turkey, local authorities report 4,537 deaths. Health spokesman for those regions, Maram al-Sheikh, told AFP that this assessment was “almost final, most of the victims are under the rubble being found.”
The quake devastated several regions in northern and western Syria, fractured by nearly 12 years of conflict that has killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced millions.
Source: TF1