Key infrastructure was damaged and hundreds killed by the powerful tremor
The powerful earthquake that struck southern Türkiye on Monday morning has damaged a natural gas pipeline in the region, state energy company BOTAS has confirmed. Videos circulating online show massive plumes of flame erupting into the air.
The 7.4-magnitude quake has killed scores of people and caused significant damage to civilian and municipal infrastructure, according to Turkish officials.
BOTAS said it has cut supply in the wake of the tremor, but the rupture in the Kilis province is being fed by the gas inside the pipeline.
Videos purportedly shot on the scene show massive plumes of fire rising high into the sky in at least two locations.
The quake hit at around 4am local time in central Türkiye. Vice President Fuat Oktay reported that at least 280 people are dead and 1,710 buildings in the provinces of Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis have been destroyed.
(RT.com)
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