February 7, 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake news

By Tara Subramaniam, Sana Noor Haq, Christian Edwards, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Mike Hayes, Tori B. Powell and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, February 8, 2023
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2:04 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

More than 7,000 dead and more than 35,000 injured from Turkey-Syria earthquake

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam and Hira Humayun

The aftermath of the earthquake is seen in Hatay, Turkey, on Tuesday.
The aftermath of the earthquake is seen in Hatay, Turkey, on Tuesday. (IHA via AP)

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria is now at least 7,266.

Syria’s volunteer organization the White Helmets — also known as Syria Civil Defense — has updated the death toll in northwest Syria to 1,020 in opposition-held areas. As per Syrian state media, at least 812 people are dead in government-controlled areas. This brings Syria’s total death toll to at least 1,832. 

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a news conference on Tuesday that the death toll in Turkey is now 5,434. 

A man walks down the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Tuesday.
A man walks down the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Tuesday. (Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)

At least 31,777 people have been injured in Turkey, according to Koca.

In Syria at least 3,849 people have been injured with at least 1,449 in Syria’s government-controlled areas according to Syrian state media, and at least 2,400 in opposition-controlled northwest Syria according to the White Helmets.

At least 35,626 people have been injured across both countries.

Women mourn next to bodies on the back of a truck in Jandaris, Syria, on Tuesday.
Women mourn next to bodies on the back of a truck in Jandaris, Syria, on Tuesday. (Mohammed Al-Rifai/AFP via Getty Images)

9:51 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

A newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria

From CNN Digital’s Photo Team

A baby girl who was rescued receives treatment inside an incubator at a hospital in Afrin, Syria, on Tuesday.
A baby girl who was rescued receives treatment inside an incubator at a hospital in Afrin, Syria, on Tuesday. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

A baby girl has been rescued from the rubble of her home in northern Syria following Monday’s massive earthquake.

Her umbilical cord was still attached to her mother when she was found, a relative told Agence France-Presse. Her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.

“We heard a voice while we were digging,” cousin Khalil al-Suwadi told the AFP on Tuesday. “We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord (intact), so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital.”

A person watches as an excavator goes through the rubble of the building where the baby's family was killed.
A person watches as an excavator goes through the rubble of the building where the baby's family was killed. (Rami Al Sayed/AFP via Getty Images)

The girl is now receiving treatment at a children’s hospital in the town of Afrin. Pediatrician Hani Maarouf told the AFP that she is stable but arrived with bruises, lacerations and hypothermia.

The baby is the sole survivor of her immediate family, according to Suwadi. They lived in a five-story apartment building that was leveled by the quake.

A doctor works while the baby lies in an incubator at the hospital.
A doctor works while the baby lies in an incubator at the hospital. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

People mourn over the bodies of a family and close neighbors who were killed in the building collapse.
People mourn over the bodies of a family and close neighbors who were killed in the building collapse. (Rami Al Sayed/AFP via Getty Images)

A man carries the body of one of the baby's family members for burial on Tuesday.
A man carries the body of one of the baby's family members for burial on Tuesday. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

Read more here.

1:00 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Greece set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid, but Syria is "more complicated," prime minister says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during a press conference in Athens, Greece, on January 23.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during a press conference in Athens, Greece, on January 23. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

Despite its tensions with Turkey, Greece is among the countries that have dispatched help to the country, but conflict-torn northwestern Syria makes the same efforts "more complicated," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN on Tuesday.

Greece and Turkey "are neighbors who need to help each other through difficult times. This is not the first time earthquakes have struck our countries," he said. "This is a time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to address what is a very very urgent situation."

In Syria, however, there is no official interlocutor and no assurance that aid will make it to the impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard to pull off, Mitsotakis said.

"No country on its own has the ability to actually make these sorts of arrangements. That's why I think it is important that these negotiations could take place either through the UN or through the European Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having these sort of discussions at a bilateral level," he told CNN, adding that he has not directly communicated with Damascus.

Remember: Northwestern Syria, which has been impacted by the earthquake, has been struggling since the the country's civil war. Currently, several parts of northwestern Syria, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

"I want to stress this: this is not about geopolitics. This is not about sort of recognizing any regime. This is about saving people in horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance," he added.

CNN has reached out to the Syrian foreign ministry about concerns over aid reaching affected areas in Syria.

Meanwhile, Bassam Sabbagh, Syria's representative to the UN, said that access exists for countries. "So anyone who'd like to help Syria they can coordinate with the government and we will be ready to do so."

12:56 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Hospitals in Syria are "absolutely overloaded," says UNICEF representative in Aleppo

From CNN's Hira Humayun

Hospitals in earthquake-hit Syria are “absolutely overloaded,” UNICEF representative in Aleppo, Angela Kearney, told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane on Tuesday.

Kearney said hospitals are full of patients with trauma, broken bones and lacerations, and that some people are also going to the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they endured when the quake struck.

While hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming, Kearney said.

Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday, Kearney said children who have already been traumatized by war were “bewildered. didn’t know what was happening.”

Kearney said that on Monday morning when UNICEF began its work in the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo city that were being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that grew to 67 schools, and currently, it is nearly 200.

“In all of those schools that are partially damaged, there are families there who left their apartments, left their houses with just their pajamas,” Kearny said adding that while aid is starting to go into the affected areas, there is still a need for blankets, food, clean water, medical care and nutritional care.

Kearny said water, sanitation and nutrition needs are the most urgent. “The aid is starting to go in but it is overwhelming; the needs are very great,” she said.

Kearney said that the Syrian government is also in Aleppo with authorities giving aid but that the needs are very great.

 

12:45 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

More than 5,000 buildings collapsed in Turkey after deadly earthquake

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam 

A man walks through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Maras, Turkey, on February 7.
A man walks through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Maras, Turkey, on February 7. (Yavuz Ozden/dia images/Getty Images)

At least 5,775 buildings collapsed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 10 provinces in Turkey on Monday, according to Orhan Tatar, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency's general director (AFAD). 

Tatar said, there are a total of 60,217 personnel who are helping with rescue operations in 10 provinces in Turkey.

12:36 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

19 Ukrainians are missing and 4 are injured in the earthquake, Ukrainian foreign ministry says

From Kostan Nechyporenko in Kyiv

At least four Ukrainian nationals were injured and 19 are missing following the earthquake in Turkey, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

"In total, diplomats have already found 38 [Ukrainian] citizens and are working with Turkish rescue services to find the other 19 Ukrainians who have not been in touch," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said. 

The four wounded Ukrainians suffered "minor injuries. Their lives are not in danger, and they do not need hospitalization," Nikolenko said, adding that "the victims are provided with temporary housing and food."

He added that the ministry is preparing to send Ukrainian consuls to the city of Gaziantep.

12:29 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Canada commits $7.5 million to earthquake relief

From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa

Canada says it is conferring with allies and trusted aid organizations as it considers how best to aid victims of the earthquake that has left thousands dead in Turkey in Syria, a process it says is complicated by a civil war in Syria and weather and logistics issues in Turkey.

Canada announced an initial $7.5 million in aid Tuesday and said it is considering matching private donations. And the Canadian government says it is still assessing both the initial and long-term needs in both Turkey and Syria.

“We have to conduct the assessments but figure out, you know, all that information has to be kind of worked out. Nothing's off the table so we’ll look at any options,” said Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s minister for International Development, during a press briefing with reporters in Ottawa Tuesday.

Canada says it is considering sending search and rescue and medical teams in addition to possibly deploying the Canadian Armed Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team.

12:18 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Turkish port of Iskenderun remains closed following earthquake damage and fire, shipping firm says

From CNN's Chris Liakos

A fire burns in shipping containers that overturned at the Iskenderun Port in Hatay, Turkey, on February 7.
A fire burns in shipping containers that overturned at the Iskenderun Port in Hatay, Turkey, on February 7. (Sezgin Pancar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Turkish port of Iskenderun remains closed following heavy damage from Monday’s earthquake and the subsequent fire which broke out amongst containers at the terminal yesterday evening, Danish container shipping firm Maersk said on Tuesday.

“The Port of Iskenderun remains closed until further notice, as teams look to repair the significant damage caused by the disaster and subsequent fire,” Maersk said in an updated statement Tuesday.

The company said that it is unclear when operations will resume and that it is looking to develop contingency plans, including diverting vessels.

“It’s not yet known how long recovery efforts will take and when the port can undergo a full inspection of the damage,” Maersk said.
“At this time, we are not accepting any new bookings to and from Iskenderun. Our teams are hard at work developing contingency plans involving nearby hubs and additional feeder vessels, with the aim of minimizing the overall impact on customers and their supply chains,” the container shipping giant added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the company said that the fire was yet to be fully under control by authorities.

Separately, Maersk told CNN that it has been working with the EU and other global partners since early Monday morning “to assess and provide the support needed in Turkey and Syria.”

12:14 p.m. ET, February 7, 2023

At least 6,326 have died due to the earthquake as Turkey's numbers continue to climb

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam

A soldier sits devastated near the collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on February 07.
A soldier sits devastated near the collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on February 07. (Burak Kara/Getty Images)

At least 6,326 people across Turkey and Syria have been killed in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Monday.

The death toll climbed to 4,544 in Turkey on Tuesday where 10 provinces were impacted, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

The number of those killed in Syria is more than 1,782: More than 970 people have been killed in opposition-held areas, according to Syria’s White Helmets, which is also known as Syria Civil Defense. In government-controlled areas, the death toll is 812, according to the state news agency SANA.

At least 30,474 people have been injured in the two countries, according to figures from the Turkish government, the White Helmets, and Syrian state media.