Bulgaria’s Turkish minority steps up aid drive for earthquake victims in Türkiye

The Turkish minority in Bulgaria stepped up an aid drive for the earthquake victims in Türkiye, according to media reports Thursday.

The minority's religious authority, or grand mufti, said nearly 1.95 million levs ($1.07 million) has been collected, as reported by the Kircaalihaber news outlet.

Multiple aid campaigns by various Bulgarian and minority bodies for the victims are ongoing.

At least 36,187 have been killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said Thursday.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people in 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck in the space of less than 10 hours.