Luanda – Angolan head of State João Lourenço expressed deep dismay at the large number of deaths caused by the earthquake that Monday rocked several regions of Turkey, ANGOP has learnt.
According to a press note from the Support Services to the President of the Republic, the head of State wrote to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to whom he expressed deep feelings of regret and solidarity on behalf of the Angolan Executive and in his own.
In another message, sent to President Bashar Hafez Al-Assad, the Angolan statesman also regretted the tragedy that hit Syrian territory Monday, that killed a large number of victims.
“I express my regret for this tragic event and express my unfailing solidarity at this dramatic time, in which I ask you to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the mortal victims, on behalf of the Angolan Executive and on my own,” reads in President João Lourenço’s message to his Syrian counterpart.
More than 2,300 people died after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale and aftershocks that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, according to the provisional balance of local authorities.
According to AFAD, a Turkish public disaster management body, so far the earthquakes have killed 1,498 people in Turkey and injured at least 8,533.
The source states that 2,834 buildings collapsed, raising fears of a greater number of victims, in addition to hundreds of deaths in neighboring Syria.
In Syria, data from the Ministry of Health collected by the SANA agency also show that the earthquake also left 430 dead and 1,315 injured in areas controlled by the Syrian Government. Provisional data correspond to the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.8 and dozens of aftershocks were felt.
The earthquake occurred at 04:17 local time, 33 kilometers from the provincial capital of Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey and close to the border with Syria, at a depth of 17.9 kilometers.
The earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria and is considered the biggest since 1939. The 7.8 magnitude tremor was also felt in Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan.
Source: Angola Press News Agency