66 Palestinians killed in Türkiye-Syria earthquakes

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian death toll in the two violent earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria has risen to 66, according to officials on Wednesday.

Ahmed al-Deek, a political adviser to the foreign minister, said more Palestinian refugees were found dead in Syria.

He added that the victims were pulled from under the rubble in the Raml refugee camp in Latakia city.

On Tuesday, El-Deek said that 55 Palestinians had been killed in the quakes -- 14 in Türkiye and 41 in Syria.

According to the state news agency Wafa, three Palestinian refugee camps in Syria were badly affected by the earthquakes; the Raml camp in Latakia city and Neirab and Handrat camps in Aleppo city.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Türkiye's Kahramanmaras province early Monday and another magnitude 7.6 quake hit the same area in the afternoon, killing at least 8,574 people and injuring 49,133 others, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In Syria, government and rescue officials reported that nearly 2,530 people were killed and over 4,645 others wounded in the quakes.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara