Epress.am News from Armenia
Ministers of the Turkish Cabinet arrived in Van yesterday night to survey the aftermath of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. Health Minister Recep Akdağ said all was good in eastern province, although local doctors disagreed and called for more help, reports the Hürriyet Daily News.
Akdağ said hospitals and medical staff were adequate and there was no need to direct earthquake survivors to hospitals in other provinces.
But one doctor in Van who spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News on condition of anonymity said hospitals in the city were severely damaged, especially at the Medical Park Hospital.
Health personnel had trouble coping with head trauma cases due to a lack of supplies and equipment at the local hospitals, the doctor said, adding that patients must be directed to hospitals in other cities to enable proper care.
The Turkish Red Crescent has erected tents for survivors at the Van exit off the road to the district of Erciş, the area most affected by the earthquake.
Ambulances from almost all provinces of Turkey were going back and forth between Erciş and Van, carrying wounded from the former. Search-and-rescue teams from different cities were also arriving in Erciş.
Buildings in Erciş were severely damaged, with some buildings falling over to one side and others collapsing totally.
Dozens of ambulances filled Erciş’s streets. Roads remained open despite the heavy damage sustained by the town.
A mobile phone operator has erected a mobile GSM station to provide coverage to the area, while the gendarmerie distributed food to survivors.
Tremors continued to rattle the city today as better-off residents of Van spent the night in five-star hotels, one of them being the Rescate Hotel, where the Cabinet ministers were also staying.
Quake victims slept on sofas and couches while the ministers were located in rooms upstairs.
Half of the Paris Hotel in Van collapsed.
Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek declared “force majeure” in Van today, delaying all tax collections in the province for a year.