Turkey steps up rebuilding plans as quake toll nears 50,000

Arsin and his father take belongings out of their destroyed apartment in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopezh

ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) -Turkey has stepped up plans to house victims of the devastating earthquake which struck its border region with Syria, the interior minister said, as the combined death toll in the two countries crept towards 50,000.

Suleyman Soylu said 313,000 tents had been erected, with 100,000 container homes to be installed in the disaster zone which stretches for hundreds of kilometres inland from the Turkish and Syrian Mediterranean coast.