Turkiye Fire Station Turned Funeral Hall... Death Toll Exceeds 15,000

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The fire station in the city of Pazarcık, T?rkiye (Turkey), struck by a massive earthquake, has been transformed into a temporary funeral hall. Bereaved families and relatives who barely escaped from collapsed houses were sobbing as they remembered the deceased at the fire station. Since the earthquake occurred on the 6th, a total of 200 bodies have been brought to this fire station over three days.

The New York Times (NYT) in the United States focused on survivors in the affected areas on the third day of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey on the 8th (local time).

Kahramanmara?, which became ruins overnight, bore wounds from the earthquake so severe that it was difficult to find its previous daily life. The soccer stadium became a shelter for displaced people, and survivors suffered in the cold and sorrow, barefoot and in pajamas. They endured grief, fear, and pain by pitching tents and lighting campfires in various places.

The Hatay province, near the Syrian border, also bore significant scars left by the earthquake. Buildings, utility poles, and signboards were all tilted, and people carrying travel bags were wandering around the streets.

As of the 9th, the death toll from the earthquake has surpassed 15,000. However, many missing persons are still trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, so the number of victims is expected to increase. There are bleak predictions that the scale of damage will surpass that of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, which resulted in 18,500 deaths.

Among this, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, President of T?rkiye, ignited public anger by stating, "It was a disaster that could not be prepared for." During his visit to the earthquake-affected Hatay province that day, he said, "It is impossible to be prepared for such a large disaster." As the earthquake damage spirals out of control, criticism is pouring in over the government's incompetence in disaster preparedness and response.

Meanwhile, governments around the world have dispatched relief teams to T?rkiye to carry out survivor rescue operations. The Korean relief team, dispatched to the earthquake-affected areas in T?rkiye, rescued a man in his 70s first during relief activities on the morning of the 9th (local time), followed by three more people including a 2-year-old girl and her parents. The relief team rescued Mahmet (40) and his daughter Ruz (2) from between collapsed five-story buildings in the residential area of Antakya, Hatay province, and also succeeded in rescuing his wife Rawa (35).