Turkiye says 50,783 confirmed dead in twin quakes

ISTANBUL – A total of 50,783 people have been reported dead in the twin earthquakes that hit Turkiye earlier this year, the country’s interior minister said today.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Suleyman Soylu said: “There are currently 297 applications for missing persons. Thirty of them are in the 0-6 age range, 20 are in the 7-12 age range, and 36 are in the 13-17 age range. Eighty-six of the missing are children. Others are adults.”

He stated that the number of migrants who lost their lives is 7,302, reported Anadolu.

Identification for 985 people is still underway, said Soylu.

Soylu stated that DNA samples were taken from the applicants from Idlib, Afrin, Jarablus, Azez, and Mare during the identification process.

“We are trying to compare and contrast them together. So not all of these 985 are citizens of the Republic of Turkiye. There are also foreign citizens among them. There are those who live alone. There are those who have no relatives. That’s why there are some cases we couldn’t get DNA from.”

Soylu also said the process of removing debris has almost finished.

“Fifty thousand of 57,000 wrecks have been removed in 11 regions. Most of it is in Hatay. We said we would finish by Eid. All the buildings to be demolished have been cleared. Within 10 days, we will begin the demolition of heavily damaged buildings,” he said. – Bernama, April 22, 2023