(MENAFN) As rescue workers sift through the wreckage, the number of dead caused by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey continues to rise. Ankara and Damascus reported a combined 6,706 fatalities and 36,259 injuries on Tuesday night.
Fuat Oktay, the vice president of Turkey, told journalists late on Tuesday, “at the moment, we have 5,894 dead and 34,810 injured.”
The calamity, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described as the worst since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, is going to be mourned for seven days. Erdogan has also proclaimed a state of emergency that would last for at least three months in the 10 worst impacted districts.
There were at least 812 dead and 1,449 wounded, according to the Syrian government. Unverified reports from areas controlled by militants opposed to the government mentioned even more fatalities.
Rescue teams were working around-the-clock to extricate any potential survivors from the wreckage. Authorities on a regional and state level were working hard to find places for individuals whose houses had been damaged to stay warm.
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