President Erdoğan arrives in quake-hit eastern Turkish province
- Türkiye
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 03:47 | 25 January 2020
- Modified Date: 03:48 | 25 January 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday arrived in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ that was hit by a deadly earthquake on Friday.
Erdoğan canceled his scheduled attendance at the 33rd general assembly and award ceremony of Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) at Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center in Istanbul.
The 6.8-magnitude quake hit eastern Elazığ province at 8.55 p.m. local time (1755GMT) on Friday, with its epicenter in Sivrice district, along with neighboring provinces and countries including Syria and Georgia.
The death toll from Friday's powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey has risen to 22, the country's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said earlier on Saturday.
"Four people died in Malatya's Doğanyol [town] and 18 others in Elazığ," said Süleyman Soylu at a news conference along with health minister and environment and urbanization minister in quake-hit Elazığ province.
A total of 39 people were also rescued from the rubble of collapsed houses and buildings, Soylu added.