Turkish president names baby of earthquake victim at Istanbul hospital

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday named the newborn baby of an earthquake victim at a hospital in Istanbul.

During his visit to survivors at Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital, Erdogan recited the adhan, or Muslim call to prayer, in the newborn girl's ear and named her "Ayse Betul," repeating it three times.

The naming came at the request of the baby's mother.

Thousands of survivors of last week’s earthquakes in southern Türkiye are currently receiving treatment in many cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.

At least 31,643 people died in the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6. More than 80,000 others were injured.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, which also included Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.