Izmir Earthquake

3 years ago
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Izmir, Turkey (CNN)Rescue efforts continued apace in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Saturday, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the Aegean Sea, causing buildings to come crashing down and claiming the lives of at least 39 people.

Thirty-seven of the deaths were in Turkey, authorities there said, and two were in Greece. At least 885 people were injured in Turkey.
A total of 20 buildings were seriously damaged in Izmir by the tremor Friday afternoon, according to Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer, the majority of them in the middle-class Bayrakli district.
Search-and-rescue operations remained underway in nine buildings as of Saturday afternoon, while operations have been completed in eight other buildings, Turkey's disaster agency said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that 103 people have been rescued from the quake's rubble.
Overnight, tens of people gathered anxiously around each collapsed building, huddling under blankets in the bitter cold as search-and-rescue teams worked to locate those trapped. The rumble of heavy construction machinery filled the air, punctuated by bursts of crying and shouting.

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