Top Line
The Turkish government has detained more than 100 building contractors and others who may be responsible for this week’s building collapses and deaths. new York TimesThe death toll from Monday’s earthquake passed 28,000.
The death toll in the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has reached close to 30,000.
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important facts
Turkey’s Justice Ministry set up “earthquake crime investigation units,” according to the state-run Anadolu news agency, resulting in the detention of more than 100 people this week for failing to meet building codes.
Turkish health ministry estimates death toll from 7.8 magnitude earthquake has reached 24,617 Saturday.
The death toll in government-controlled areas in northern Syria remains at 1,347Another 2,295 have been wounded, according to Syria’s health ministry – although the office has not updated its estimates since 9 February.
The death toll in the rebel-held area in the country’s northwest – where residents depend on humanitarian aid due to Syria’s decade-long civil war – has risen to 2,167, According Syrian Civil Defense.
Discussing humanitarian relief efforts, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said the earthquake was “the worst to hit the region in 100 years”, according to Reuters.
The US military began deploying forces on Friday to assist with relief efforts Washington Post, following an announcement by Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Wednesday.
big number
13 million. According to Anadolu’s estimate, the same number of people were affected by the earthquake in 10 provinces of Turkey.
amazing facts
In a separate set of arrests on Saturday, Turkish authorities detained 98 suspects for alleged looting and making prank calls to affected victims, sources told Anadolu, carrying stolen cash along with other items including laptops, guns and jewelry reported after seizing at least $14,700 in.
main background
The quake – the deadliest in the world since 2011 – toppled residential buildings, shopping centres, mosques and offices just after 4 a.m. Monday, with its epicenter about 20 miles east of Gaziantep. About 26,000 search and rescue workers in Turkey – in addition to additional support from more than a dozen countries – are looking for survivors, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. The World Health Organization warned that the death toll could reach above 20,000 in an announcement on Tuesday, an estimate that was eclipsed on Wednesday.
Further reading
Turkey’s ‘biggest disaster of the last century’: earthquake death toll crosses 21,000forbes,
Worst earthquakes—and where Turkey fits in: 10 deadliest and 10 strongest since 1950forbes,
