Thai woman dies in earthquake in Turkey

One Thai woman has died in the devastating earthquake in Turkey, the Thai Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.

The ministry said it has received a report from its embassy in Turkey that the body of a Thai woman was found under collapsed buildings in the town of Iskenderun.

The ministry expressed condolences to family of the victim, as it said that the Thai Embassy is coordinating with Turkish officials over arrangements for the repatriation of the victim’s body.

The Thai woman was among 8,500 death in Turkey, the quake that believed to be the deadliest one worldwide in more than a decade. One U.N. official said thousands of children may have died.

Monday’s magnitude 7.8 quake, followed hours later by a second one almost as powerful, toppled thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, injured tens of thousands, and left countless people homeless in Turkey and northern Syria.

Turkey’s president said the country’s death toll passed 8,500. The Syrian Health Ministry, meanwhile, said the death toll in government-held areas has climbed past 1,200, while at least 1,400 people have died in the rebel-held northwest, according to volunteer first responders known as the White Helmets.