Izmir earthquake’s victims rise to 39

SANAA, Nov. 1 (YPA) – The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Department (AFAD) announced that the death toll from the Izmir earthquake has risen to 39.
AFAD said in a statement that the region witnessed 658 aftershocks, 40 of them above 4 degrees, after the 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Aegean Sea off the coast of Izmir (west) on Friday.
The statement emphasized that the earthquake killed 39 people, including drowning case, and injured 885 others.
The statement explained that the crews are continuing the search and rescue work in nine residential buildings.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected the progress of search and rescue work in the state of Izmir, after it was hit by an earthquake on Saturday, which resulted in deaths and injuries dozens.
Erdogan arrived in the state of Izmir (west), and went to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Coordination Center “Avad”, according to the Anadolu Agency.
Erdogan held a meeting with officials at the Coordination Center, during which he was briefed on the progress of search and rescue work and aid for those affected by the earthquake.
The officials included Parliament Speaker Mustafa Shantube, Erdogan’s deputy Fuad Oktay, and ministers present in the earthquake zone.
On Friday, an earthquake measuring 6.6 degrees on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of the “Safri Hesar” district in the state of Izmir, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management “Afad”
As of Saturday evening, the death toll from the earthquake had reached 35 and more than 830 injured, among them more than 500 who had been treated in hospitals, according to official data.