Pope Francis: 'Let us not forget victims of terrible earthquakes'

VATICAN (AA) - Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics and the head of state of the Vatican, has asked people not to forget the Syrian and Turkish people, "victims of terrible earthquakes."

Speaking after the Angelus prayer held every Sunday in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, he said: "Let us not forget victims of terrible earthquakes."

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes in Türkiye have claimed more than 44,300 lives and impacted some 13 million people.

The quakes also caused widespread devastation in parts of northwestern Syria, where the death toll has climbed to at least 5,840.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Pope also remembered the people of Ukraine, a year after the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Pope also mentioned the boat sinking off the coast of the southern Italian city of Crotone, in which more than 40 irregular migrants lost their lives this morning, saying: "I learned with sadness about the incident that occurred on the Calabrian coast this morning. The bodies of 40 people, most of them children, have been recovered. I pray for those who lost their lives, for the missing, and for the survivors."

He also expressed his hope for dialogue to prevail over hatred and revenge between Palestinians and Israelis.