The Daily Hürriyet

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[Axis12]

LIKELY HUNDREDS DEAD IN DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE IN DÜZCE

Early images of the devastation felt across western Turkey, hitting even Istanbul during the first ever GCIS Summit​

Scores of people have been killed Friday night and hundreds more are reported injured in a strong earthquake that shook northwestern Turkey.

''We are facing a new disaster,'' President Mesut Yīlmaz said. ''This is a destructive earthquake. I hope we will not face a great loss.''

The earthquake struck in the midst of a summit meeting in Istanbul that the Congolese Emperor and the heads of multiple governments are attending.

No serious damage was reported in Istanbul, but buildings shook and residents of some neighborhoods fled from their homes.

Leading seismologist, Ahmet Mete Isikara, who is the head of an observatory in Istanbul, said the quake registered a severe 7.2 on the standard measuring scale. He said it was centered near the town of Düzce.

A delegation of Government officials rushed to Duzce during the night. The head of the delegation, Minister of Health and Social Security Halil İbrahim Özsoy, said the death toll there had reached 70.

That figure was likely to rise, since it did not include deaths in nearby towns. News agencies said there had been more than 100 fatalities.

''There is utter helplessness here at the moment,'' reported one television correspondent. ''Hundreds of buildings have collapsed, but there is no one who can help, we are awaiting our great government who will help us soon but for now people must wait for their arrival.''

''Rescue crews and relief aid have been sent to the region,'' he said. ''The armed forces sent assistance to the region immediately.''

Direct communication with Duzce was cut. Local News reports said the main road leading to the town was impassable, shattered by the quake and littered with overturned trucks. Relief efforts were said to be difficult because the local fire station had collapsed, trapping a number of firefighters.

Television footage showed people in Duzce (pronounced DOOZ-jay) huddling on the street and pouring water on flames.

Despite the cold weather, doctors attended to survivors in a garden because they feared the local hospital might collapse. There was no electric power, so the doctors worked by light from automobile headlights.

Hospital administrators issued urgent calls for blood and medicine. One of them, Sadettin Cakmakoglu, told a news correspondent: ''I am sending out an S.O.S. for Duzce.''

One apartment was crowded by people saying Muslim prayers for a dead relative. ''They had gathered on the third floor,'' Muhammed Ozturk, a local cleric, told Reuters. ''I don't know exactly how many, but it could be up to 60.''

Towns near Duzce were also affected. Forty miles away in Adapazari, which was hard hit by the August earthquake, people jumped from windows in panic when the quake struck shortly before 7:00 p.m. local time. There was also damage in Bolu, a busy town on the main highway between Ankara and Istanbul.

''We have collapsed buildings,'' said the regional governor, Nusret Miroglu. ''We need rescue crews and ambulances.''

This Situation is ongoing.

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