Thousands lost their homes in the earthquake.
(Photo: dpa)
Bonn/Duisburg People in Turkey affected by the earthquake are to be given the opportunity to temporarily stay with relatives in Germany via an unbureaucratic visa procedure. This was announced by the Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior on Saturday in Berlin. “As the federal government, we want to help families in Germany to be able to temporarily take in relatives who have been affected by the earthquake if they no longer have a roof over their heads or need medical treatment,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). At the same time, the threshold of 28,000 officially confirmed deaths was exceeded on Saturday.
According to Baerbock, the Federal Foreign Office has formed a task force together with the Federal Ministry of the Interior. They will start their work this weekend. “The goal is to make the visa process for these cases as unbureaucratic as possible.”
Meanwhile, the death toll in Turkey rose to 24,617. More than 80,278 people were injured, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, according to the state news agency Anadolu. 3,574 deaths were recently reported from Syria. The number of victims is likely to increase significantly in the coming days.
Meanwhile, investigations in southern Turkey into possible construction defects in collapsed buildings became known. Arrest warrants had been issued for 33 people in the city of Diyarbakir, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing prosecutors. According to Anadolu, the public prosecutor’s office in Adana is also investigating. As part of these investigations, 62 arrest warrants have been issued so far, it said. Nine other people were arrested in the cities of Sanliurfa and Osmaniye.
Meanwhile, first aid teams suspended their work for fear of possible riots. The Technical Relief Agency (THW), the aid organization ISAR Germany and the Austrian Armed Forces referred to the security situation. Reportedly, grief sometimes turns to anger.
A 7.7 magnitude tremor shook the border area early Monday morning, followed by another 7.6 magnitude tremor at noon. Since then, there have been more than 2,000 aftershocks in the region by Saturday, according to the Turkish civil protection agency Afad. According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, more than 1.5 million people are now sheltering in tents, hotels or public emergency shelters.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), aid must be significantly expanded. “We need to act with greater urgency, on a larger scale, and to organize better,” Richard Brennan, WHO emergency relief director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, said in Aleppo on Saturday. The death and injury numbers are immense. But what is often neglected is the large number of homeless people. In Aleppo alone, in the government-controlled part of north-west Syria, it is estimated that around 200,000 people have lost their roof over their heads. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also arrived in Syria on Saturday.
German rescuers interrupt work
The Technical Relief Agency (THW) and the aid organization ISAR Germany have meanwhile interrupted their rescue work in the earthquake area in Turkey for fear of possible riots. According to various information, the security situation in the Hatay region has changed in the past few hours, the organizations said on Saturday. “There are increasing reports of clashes between different groups, and shots are said to have been fired,” said the THW.
According to THW, the German helpers acted in coordination with the Turkish civil protection Afad. As soon as he classifies the situation as safe, work will resume
(Photo: dpa)
Search and rescue teams will remain at the joint base camp in the city of Kirikhan for the time being. If there is a concrete indication that someone can be saved alive, they will still drive out, THW spokeswoman Katharina Garrecht told the German Press Agency on site.
“Our emergency services have not heard anything from the riots so far,” said the THW. An ISAR spokesman said: “According to our information, the aggression is not directed against German helpers.” So far, there has been no threat.
Experience has shown that there are different phases in major damage situations such as an earthquake catastrophe, the ISAR spokesman said. “We are currently in the phase in which the hope of survivors under the rubble is becoming ever smaller. Because of this, people sometimes experience deep sadness and sometimes anger at their personal losses.”
In addition, there were difficulties with the water and food supply, which put a strain on those affected and in some cases frustrated them. ISAR head of operations Steven Bayer said: “It can be seen that the sadness is slowly giving way to anger.”
Increasing aggression between groups
According to THW, the German helpers acted in coordination with the Turkish civil protection Afad. As soon as he classifies the situation as safe, work will resume.
Soldiers from a disaster relief unit of the Austrian military had previously stopped their rescue work in Hatay province. “There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey. Shots are said to have been fired,” said Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis from the Austrian Armed Forces of the APA news agency. However, the Austrian rescuers also remain on site and are available for further operations.
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