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Rund um die Uhr wird in Izmir nach Überlebenden gesucht.
© YASIN AKGUL
Izmir – Rescue teams continued their search for survivors in the city of Izmir, in western Turkey, following the severe earthquake in the Aegean, which claimed many lives. On Saturday, search parties recovered three children and their mother alive from the rubble of an eight-story building to applause, state broadcaster TRT reported.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later told reporters that one of the children had died. According to the station, a fourth buried child will be rescued.
Rescuers had previously been able to contact the woman. “When you hear my voice, knock three times,” said an assistant. Then the woman gave a beep. According to the Environment and City Minister Murat Kurum, a total of 100 people were rescued from the rubble. Around 5000 rescuers and 20 search dogs are in action.
Einwohner von Izmir beobachten von einem Café aus die Rettungeinsätze.
The death toll in Turkey has risen to 37, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Izmir. 885 were initially injured at the hospital, but 667 of them have already been discharged. Two people died on the Greek island of Samos.
Erdogan expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and promised to quickly rebuild the destroyed buildings in Turkey. “Every earthquake reminds us that our country is in a dangerous (seismological) zone,” he added.
Thousands in shelters
Thousands of people spent the night in emergency shelters, according to Izmir City Mayor Tunc Soyer. Tents were set up and helpers distributed food in the parks, as can be seen in the images. Also on Samos, people slept outdoors, in cars or without a roof over their heads for fear of aftershocks, according to Greek media.
Initially there were no reports of affected tourists; anyway, the main season in the Aegean is over and travel is only possible to a limited extent due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the earth shook, throughout the night and also on Saturday there were hundreds of aftershocks, some of which reached a strength of 4 and more. According to disaster control authority Afad, there was an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.0 on Saturday morning in the region of Turkey’s western Seferihisar district.
The first earthquake on Friday at 2:51 pm local time (12:51 pm CET) had a magnitude of 6.6 according to the Turkish disaster authority. Therefore, the center was in the Aegean Sea, opposite the Turkish province of Izmir. The USGS, which is responsible for the earthquakes, even gave the earthquake a strength of 7.
At least four buildings in Izmir in ruins
According to the provincial governor, at least four buildings completely collapsed in Izmir. The Bayrakli district of the coastal city was particularly affected. According to official information, aides continued to search eight buildings for survivors on Saturday. Izmir schools were closed for a week.
Wie ein Kartenhaus stürzte dieses Wohnhaus in sich zusammen.
© OZAN KOSE
During the night there were dramatic scenes. A woman named Buse Hasyilmaz became the symbol of the catastrophe, was rescued from the rubble of a seven-story building after almost ten hours and had previously been able to telephone the helpers. Passersby and emergency services applauded as they were carried away on stretchers.
Another woman and a 16-year-old girl were rescued from a collapsed building after 17 hours, Minister Kurum said. TRT recordings showed how helpers rescued a cat from the rubble. More than 26 hours after the earthquake, a 62-year-old man was rescued alive from the rubble of a nine-story skyscraper in Izmir, TRT reported. Over and over again, the emergency services called for silence so they could hear voices. A crane lifted concrete blocks from the rubble.
In both Samos and the west coast of Turkey, a tsunami after Friday’s earthquake caused the water to overflow. The Potsdam Helmholtz Center classified the tsunami as moderate, a second large wave did not materialize, contrary to isolated warnings. Photos from Samos showed dragged cars, which then stopped on the other side of the street; Stores and basements were flooded. Turkey is very prone to earthquakes. In January alone more than 40 people were killed in two earthquakes in the eastern Turkish cities of Elazig and Malatya. (dpa)
