In Turkey, where another earthquake struck and at least six people were killed, rescuers are once more looking for those who are buried beneath the wreckage. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake that ravaged both countries on February 6 occurred close to Antakya, Turkey, which is located close to the Syrian border.

In Turkey and Syria, the preceding earthquakes left 44,000 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. On Monday, tremor-weakened buildings toppled in both nations. According to Turkey’s disaster and emergency ministry, the 6.4 earthquake struck at a depth of 10 km at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT) (6.2 miles).

Three minutes later, a 5.8 aftershock occurred, and then dozens of smaller aftershocks followed.

Dr. Fahrettin Koca, the health minister, reported 294 injuries, 18 of them serious.

Since the earthquake occurred in a region that was largely deserted after being severely damaged by the quake on February 6, it is believed that the death toll was comparatively low this time.

As paramedics and rescue teams worked to get to the worst-affected neighbourhoods, where the walls of severely damaged buildings had collapsed, reports from the city of Antakya described terror and panic in the streets.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

About two weeks after a major earthquake killed tens of thousands of people, Turkey has stopped rescue efforts in all but two provinces, the nation’s disaster agency reported. According to the agency’s leader, searches will continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay.

On Friday, survivors were still being extracted from the wreckage, but chances of discovering more survivors are dwindling. On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Turkey. He had planned the vacation before the catastrophe.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Kahramanmaras on February 6 had its epicentre there. There have been confirmed fatalities totaling more than 44,000 in northern Syria and southeast Turkey.

With around 345,000 apartments in Turkey reported to have been damaged and numerous others still missing, the death toll is sure to rise. The number of those who are still missing has not been disclosed by Turkey or Syria.

According to Yunus Sezer, the head of the disaster agency, “search and rescue efforts have been concluded in several of our provinces.”

Over 40 structures in the two provinces, he added, were still the subject of search and rescue operations, though he anticipated that this number would decline by Sunday night.

More than 11 days after they were buried by the earthquake, rescuers retrieved at least three individuals from the ruins on Friday.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright