Turkish President visits quake survivors in Van

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Van to celebrate the Kurban Bayram holiday with quake survivors and take part in bayram prayers with locals.

“These are days that make holidays more meaningful,” Gul said. “These are times when we all should help and embrace each other as brothers and sisters,” Hurriyet reported.

The 2011 Van earthquake was a destructive magnitude 7.1 Mw earthquake that struck eastern Turkey near the city of Van on Sunday, 23 October 2011. It occurred at a shallow depth of 20 km, causing heavy shaking across much of eastern Turkey and was felt across neighbouring parts of the South Caucasus and Levant. According to Disasters and Emergency Situations Directorate of Turkey AFAD, as of October 30, the number of casualties reached 601, and those injured- 4152.