IZMIR, Turkey (AP) — Rescue workers extricated a 70-year-old man from a collapsed building in western Turkey on Sunday, some 34 hours after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece, killing at least 57 people and injuring more than 900.
It was the latest series of remarkable rescues after the Friday afternoon earthquake, which was centered in the Aegean northeast of the Greek island of Samos. Search-and-rescue teams were working in nine toppled or damaged buildings in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, but appeared to be finding more bodies Sunday than survivors.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca raised the death toll Sunday in Izmir to 55. Two teenagers were killed Friday on Samos and at least 19 others were injured.
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, sit in a coffee shop in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Rescue teams on Saturday ploughed through concrete blocs and debris of eight collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, killing dozens Hundreds of other were injured. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing several people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
Members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing several people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at Izmir AFAD emergency response center, in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Three young children and their mother were rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in western Turkey on Saturday, some 23 hours after a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea killed several people and injured more than 800 others.(Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool) 
A child sleeps on the shoulder of a relative, as the family stays outdoors for fear of aftershocks, in Izmir, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Rescue teams on Saturday ploughed through concrete blocs and debris of eight collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, killing dozens. Hundreds of others were injured. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
A man sleeps outdoors for fear of strong aftershocks after an earthquake collapsed their houses, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. The strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece on Friday. (AP Photo/Ismail Gokmen) 
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, early Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, watch from a coffee shop, as members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Members of rescue services search in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, watch as members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
A local resident, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, pauses as he watches members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Local residents stay outdoors for fear of strong aftershocks after an earthquake collapsed their houses, in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. The strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece on Friday. (AP Photo/Ismail Gokmen) 
A member of rescue services rests during search operations in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
A member of rescue services with a dog, walks past a destroyed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
Member of rescue services take a break during search operations in the debris of a collapsed building for survivors in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
Local residents, staying outdoors for fear of aftershocks, watch as members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
The interior of a destroyed living room of a family flat is seen after the building collapsed in Izmir, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) 
In this photo provided by Turkey’s IHH humanitarian aid group, a member of rescue services, guides others during searching for survivors in the debris of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey, early Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Rescue teams continue ploughing through concrete blocs and debris of collapsed buildings in Turkey’s third largest city in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, Friday Oct. 30, killing dozens Hundreds of others were injured. (IHH via AP)
There was some debate over the magnitude of the earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey rated it 7.0, while the Istanbul’s Kandilli Institute put it at 6.9 and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said it measured 6.6.
Ahmet Citim, 70, was pulled out of the rubble in the middle of the night and was hospitalized. Koca tweeted that Citim said: “I never lost hope.” The minister visited the survivor and said he was doing well.
The quake triggered a small tsunami that hit Samos and the Seferihisar district of Izmir, drowning one elderly woman. The tremors were felt across western Turkey, including in Istanbul, as well as in the Greek capital of Athens. Hundreds of aftershocks followed. Turkey’s disaster agency said nearly 900 people were injured in Turkey alone.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said 26 badly damaged buildings would be demolished.
“It’s not the earthquake that kills but buildings,” he added, repeating a common slogan.
Turkey has a mix of older buildings and cheap or illegal construction, which can lead to serious damage and deaths when earthquakes hit. Regulations have been tightened in light of earthquakes to strengthen or demolish buildings and urban renewal is underway in Turkish cities but it is not happening fast enough.
Two destroyed apartment buildings where much of the rescues are taking place had received reports of “decay” in 2012 and 2018, according to the municipal agency in charge of such certificates. A report on Turkish media including the Hurriyet newspaper said one of the buildings built in 1993 was at risk of earthquake damage because of low quality concrete and the lack of reinforcements. However, the building continued to be occupied.
AFAD said more than 5,700 personnel had been activated for rescue work and hundreds of others for food distribution, emergency help and building damage control.
Turkey is criss-crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, two powerful quakes killed some 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey. Earthquakes are frequent in Greece as well.
In a rare show of unity amid months of tense relations over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, Greek and Turkish government officials issued mutual messages of solidarity over the quake toll.
The quake occurred as Turkey was already struggling with an economic downturn and the coronavirus pandemic. So far, more than 10,000 people with the virus have died in Turkey, and some experts have accused the government of concealing the true impact of the virus with the way it counts cases.
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