The number of deaths after the earthquake with its epicenter in Turkey does not stop growing. More than 5,000 people have died as a result of the earthquake, which has reached other countries such as Syriaespecially in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, and more than 20,500 people have been injured. The first earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred in the early hours of Monday, around 04:17 local time, with its epicenter in the district of Pazarcık, in the province of Kahramanmaraş, close to the border with Syria. However, the Kandilli seismic observatory locates it in Sofalici, in the neighboring province of Gaziantep, some 40 kilometers further south.
After dozens of aftershocks that have been felt in the southeast of the country and in neighboring countries such as Lebanon or Iraq, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.6, about 80 kilometers north of the first, also in Kahramanmaraş, it shook the country again at around 1:24 p.m. local time. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the number of deaths from the earthquake could exceed 20,000some devastating figures.
The collapse of a historic castle
Earthquakes have also caused extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. According to Turkish government data, more than 6,000 buildings have been destroyed in the most affected southeastern provinces. Much infrastructure is now rubble. In the city of Alexandretta, in Hatay province, part of a hospital collapsed, while the airports in Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras and Hatay had to close.
One of the emblems of southern Turkey, Gaziantep Castle, has also been deeply damaged after the earthquake. It is one of the jewels of Roman architecture. A fortress with more than 2,000 years of history that collapsed this Monday.
Archaeological excavations revealed that this castle was first built as a watchtower during the roman period and it expanded over time in the II-IV centuries AD, detailed on the official website of the Government of Turkey. It acquired its present form in the 6th century AD “during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian” and in the years after the Byzantine period, “especially the Mamluks, Dulkadiroğlus and the Ottomans, repaired the castle”.