The A2 CNN crew, with journalists Jul Kasapi and operator Mand Qafoku, landed in Gaziantep, Turkey, this evening. Journalist Kasapi provided further details of the situation there through a live reporting on the “Debate” studio, as rescue groups continue to work manually, removing stones and concrete blocks one by one to pull people out of the rubble.
“The situation is critical; it’s a 240-kilometer drive from Adana, and we arrived after more than 5 hours; we’re in one of the worst-affected places in the Ibrahim Li neighborhood. The teams are still working to rescue people from the rubble. The heavy tonnage equipment has been switched off, and the process of removing the stones and concrete blocks by hand continues. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake claimed the lives of around 5000 people. The epicenter is in Gaziantep, but it is also in Syria and Marash. It is Gaziantep’s most damaged neighborhood. What strikes you as impressive or sad is when family members arrive and place themselves amid this heap of personal stuff to identify and check if they can discover clothing or possessions of their family members. The work is still under progress. There has been a pause as from time to time people are asked to be heard who may have remained under the rubble. We got the opportunity today to meet with the Kosovo Security Forces who have traveled to Turkey to give aid “Kasapi revealed. Over 50 nations, including Albania, have given assistance to Turkey in this crisis.
Meanwhile, the number of earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria continues to rise by the hour. Currently, the number of persons who have died has surpassed 6,300. According to authorities, over 4,500 people have perished in Turkey, while over 1,800 have died in Syria.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the earthquake affected more than 23 million people.
Dr. Margaret Harris told the BBC that “many hospitals cannot function because they lack energy”. “Until everything is cleaned from the wreckage, we will not know the precise number of people who lost their lives,” she stated of the exact number of casualties.