King Harald (85) sends his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It appears on the royal house’s website.
– I am very sad to hear about the earthquake which caused such extensive destruction and claimed so many lives.
– On behalf of myself and the Norwegian people, I send you my deepest condolences and ask you to convey my condolences and my sympathy to the bereaved, to those otherwise affected by this terrible natural disaster, and to the people of the Republic of Turkey.
The condolences come after the country was hit by the strongest earthquake in over 80 years. Several thousand people have been reported dead.
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The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and struck approximately 17.9 kilometers underground near the cities of Gaziantep and Osmaniye, a few miles from the border with Syria. More than 40 aftershocks have been reported, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 7.5.
Erdogan has referred to the earthquake as the worst disaster in Turkey since 1939 and says you cannot predict how many more dead you will find.
According to updated figures from both Turkey and Syria on Tuesday morning, more than 5,000 people have been confirmed dead.
The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the death toll is much higher and estimates that around 20,000 people may have lost their lives.
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Several thousand have been injured, and an unknown number of people are feared to be under the ruins of collapsed buildings. It is therefore expected that the number of dead will rise as rescue teams search through the ruins.
