Palestinian refugees killed in Turkiye earthquake

Up to 55 Palestinian refugees have been killed in the major earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria in the early hours of yesterday morning, Palestine’s Ambassador to Turkiye has confirmed.

Faed Mustafa told Wafa news agency that 13 dead bodies were pulled from beneath the rubble in the Raml refugee camp in Latakia, five in Jableh, three in Aleppo and one in the Syrian town of Jindires.

According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the refugee camps in Latakia on the Syrian coast and Nairab, near Aleppo, are the most affected among the country’s 12 registered camps for Palestinian refugees. Three houses collapsed in Latakia camp, having an impact on 25 people.

The authorities fear that the death toll will keep climbing as rescuers search through the rubble for survivors.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake has claimed over 5,000 lives and injured 20,000 people with thousands of buildings collapsing in both Turkiye and Syria. Hundreds of aftershocks have been reported and rescue efforts to find survivors are still under way.

READ: Earthquake death toll faces significant increase in Turkiye and Syria