SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Bafel Talabani, conveyed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the massive quake that hit Turkey and Syria in early Monday, leaving hundreds killed.
“Our heart goes out to the families of the victims,” he said in a statement, sympathizing with their sorrow, and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.
More than 500 people were killed and thousands injured, after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.
The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said 284 people were killed and 2,323 injured, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft for the affected area.
Oktay also declared a “level 4 alarm” that calls for international assistance.
In Syria’s Rojava which is also known as the western part of Kurdistan, including the rebel-held areas more than 237 people had been killed and about 600 injured.
Syrian’s Bashar al-Assad was holding an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the next steps, his office said.
The United States was “profoundly concerned” about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.
“I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance,” he said.
It was Turkey’s most severe quake since 1999, when one of similar magnitude devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.
Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460 km (286 miles) northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.
