Death toll from Turkiye earthquakes soars past 16,000 as rescuers scour the rubble

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkiye has reached 16,170 people, President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan said speaking in Osmaniye, according to Report.

16:03

At least 14,351 people were killed and 63,794 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, the country's Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Thursday, Report informs via Anadolu Agency.

15:03

At least 14,014 people were killed and 63,794 others were injured by two strong earthquakes which jolted southern Turkiye on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Gaziantep, according to Report.

"The search and rescue operations continue," the country's leader said.

08:57

The number of people who died in powerful earthquakes in southern Turkiye has surpassed 12,000, a government agency said early Thursday.

Report informs via Anadolu Agency that Turkiye’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said 12,391 people were killed and 62,914 others were injured in Monday’s quakes centered in Kahramanmaras province.

Other provinces in southern and eastern Turkiye that were affected by the quakes are Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis.

More than 6,000 buildings collapsed due to the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that occurred in the space of less than 10 hours.

Turkiye has taken action with all its institutions and resources since the deadly earthquakes in its southern provinces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

"We have mobilized all our resources. The state is working with municipalities, especially AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency), with all its means," Erdogan said as he inspected relief efforts in Kahramanmaras.

More than 13 million people have been impacted by the quakes.

For search and rescue operations to be carried out rapidly, Turkiye on Tuesday announced a three-month state of emergency in the quake-hit provinces.

In addition, Turkiye is observing seven days of national mourning after the devastating quakes.