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Turkey earthquake: in pictures

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey has killed at least 200, with the toll expected to rise

By Samira Shackle Published 24 October 2011 13:16

A powerful earthquake on Sunday morning has caused destruction in eastern Turkey, particularly hitting the cities of Ercis and Van. The surrounding villages have also been affected, with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying that almost all mud-brick homes had collapsed.

The death toll is currently 217, but is expected to rise substantially. Rescue teams, assisted by soldiers, spent the night frantically digging through dozens of collapsed buildings in near-freezing temperatures. It is thought that about 40 buildings in Ercis still have people trapped beneath the rubble.

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Tags: Turkey

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6 comments

Fri, 2011-10-28 16:47 — Herbert (not verified)

Turkey is a racist apartheid state that treats it's Kurdish population in the same way Blacks were treated by Apartheid South Africa. The Islamist Erdogan would like to do to them what his predecessors did to the Armenian Christians. That is the reason why the Islamist Turkish regime declined to let in Israeli rescue teams when there was a hope of saving lives. Erdogan rather hoped they would die. The only solution for apartheid Turkey is total victory for the freedom fighters of the PKK. There also needs to be formed a new EOKA to free northern Cyprus from Turkish fascist occupation and the forcible removal of the 100,000 Turkish Islamist settlers who ethnically cleansed 60,000 Greek orthodox civilians from their homes.

Mon, 2011-10-31 03:47 — Captain Sensible (not verified)

@Drakula
26 October 2011 at 07:47
right on Drak but what hand moved the plates? It wot Keats called poetic Justice , Byron who hated Turkeys would agree!

Mon, 2011-10-24 21:00 — Flashbuck (not verified)

It was Allah's will.

Wed, 2011-10-26 08:47 — Drakula

I think it has more to do with the tectonic plates moving.

Wed, 2011-10-26 10:07 — dialectichulk

as of noon today (26th), the death toll is 459. It is expected to rise up to 1000. Government has finally made an official request for help from thirty countries, including Israel.

most striking fact, however, is not those numbers but the tone of public reaction in Turkey. A significant part of Turks (including some journalists, celebrities etc.) express their hateful conviction that can be summarized as follows: "since the city where the earthquake happened is predominantly populated by Kurds and it is Kurds who support terrorist activities by PKK, the state shouldn't help them and we shouldn't feel remorseful."

This shocking line of thought is more prevalent than one might think in Turkey nowadays. More than a few commentators on TV expressed it during the past days and hundreds of thousands of people posted similar "statuses" on Twitter and Facebook.