Turkey parliamentarian among earthquake fatalities

A Turkish parliamentarian from the country’s ruling party was among the thousands killed in the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey on Monday.

Yakup Tas from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) had been reported to be under the rubble with his family in the city of Adiyaman.

A post on his Twitter page on Monday asked people to remember him and his family in their prayers.

Vekilimiz Yakup Taş ailesi bir cok hemşehrimiz gibi deprem nedeniyle enkaz altındadır.
Dualariniza vekilimiz ve ailesini de katar mısınız....

— Yakup Taş (@yakuptas02) February 6, 2023

His death was later reported by CNN Turk. It is not clear if his family survived.

Several Turkish politicians, including parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop, shared messages of condolence on Twitter.

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved freezing weather, aftershocks and collapsing buildings throughout the night into Tuesday, as they dug for survivors buried by a string of earthquakes that have so far killed more than 5,000 people in both countries.

Millions of others have been directly affected by the quakes.

Disaster agencies said several thousand buildings had been flattened in towns and cities across a vast border region - pouring misery on an area already plagued by war, insurgency, and a recent cholera outbreak.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a three-month emergency in the country. He said the quake was the worst disaster Turkey had ever witnessed.