Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)
ALEPPO, Syria, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- People are still in shock and panic in the northern Aleppo province, one of the worst-affected Syrian areas, after the catastrophic earthquake that jolted parts of Syria and Turkey earlier on Monday.
In the Karm al-Jabal neighborhood in the old quarter of the provincial capital of Aleppo, Muhammad Boushi was walking in shock, not knowing what to do because the whole family of his brother is still stuck under the rubble, with no way to reach them.
Boushi was lucky to have woken up by the tremor and fled his house before his building collapsed in the same neighborhood, but his brother's family did not.
"We felt the earthquake and immediately took to the streets. Everyone left and took shelter on the streets. And we heard that buildings had collapsed so we came to help. The civilians started to help rescue people from under the rubble, whether dead or alive. My 37-year-old brother, his wife, and their three children are still under the rubble. We are trying to contact them via mobile phone. It's ringing but no one is answering," Boushi said.
Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Hama province, central Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)
Mahmoud Muhammad, who lives in the nearby al-Shaar area, which was heavily damaged during Syria's civil war, told Xinhua that after the earthquake, he left his house in a panic, but later joined thousands of others in attempting to rescue the less fortunate.
Braving cold and rainy weather, he and others have been helping the government workers in rescuing their fellow neighbors.
"Around 4:30 in the morning, homes started to shake so we woke up and went down to the streets. We heard a bang and we rushed to see what was going on and tried to help. I hope all those under the rubble stay alive," he told Xinhua.
Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)
Mamdouh Barot, who also lives in the al-Shaar area, said he and his family left their apartment when it started to shake. When they got to the street, their building's upper floors collapsed in front of their eyes.
Barot lived on the ground floor so he took the risk to go back to his apartment and grabbed some belongings.
"When I came out, I heard a big noise. So we ran, not daring to look back. When we returned there later, we found the building had totally collapsed," he said.
Powerful earthquakes rocked southern Türkiye and its neighbor Syria early Monday, killing at least 1,651 and injuring 11,119 in Türkiye so far, according to statistics released by Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.
According to the Syrian health ministry and the Britain-based pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the northern Syrian provinces of Latakia, Tartous, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib on Monday, killing at least 870 and injuring 1,326.
Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Hama province, central Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)■