More than 500 Afghan nationals have died and over 1,500 injured in this week’s devastating earthquake that hit Turkey, an Afghan refugee association in Turkey told Amu on Saturday.
According to the association, about 40 affected families were without shelter in the bitterly cold weather in the earthquake-stricken Adiyaman city in Turkey.
The association said a number of people have started holding funeral ceremonies for the victims of the earthquake. Some of the injured individuals meanwhile lost limbs in the quake, the organization added.
Meanwhile, officials of the Taliban-run embassy in Turkey stated that many Afghan nationals – almost 80 people – died in the Hatai area, which is located near the Syrian border.
According to them, as many as 35 Afghan citizens died and 50 others were wounded after an earthquake jolted Adana city.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the powerful earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria has surpassed 23,000 people.
Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in a statement that at least 75,523 people have been injured in Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya and Elazığ.
The statement added that 81,415 people, so far, have been evacuated from quake-hit areas.
Turkey, meanwhile, has announced that all universities must continue teaching remotely and student dormitories should be given to those affected by the recent earthquake.
