Earthquake death toll among Palestinians reaches 89 as Rapid Response team continues search efforts

The death toll among Palestinians as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria rose to 89, after a family of five were found dead under the rubble in the Turkish city of Antakya.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it expects the number of casualties to increase as more bodies are being found under the rubble in the affected areas in Turkey and Syria where 38 victims were confirmed in Turkey and 51 Palestine refugees in Syria.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey last Monday has risen to more than 28,000, including at least 22,000 people killed in Turkey, and more than 3,600 people killed in Syria, as the search for survivors and bodies continues in extremely cold conditions.

At the same time, the Palestinian Rapid Response and Rescue team, which arrived in Syria and Turkey on Friday to help in the rescue effort and included members from the civil defense and paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, continues its work alongside local and international relief teams.

The team’s mission will last for nine days, with relief efforts focused on various areas in southeastern Turkey and northwest Syria.

More than $1 million were raised in the West Bank mosques on Friday following the Friday prayers to help the victims of the earthquake, according to the Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Hatem al-Bakri.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency