Quake Death Toll Rises to 71 in Turkey

Cries for help rose from collapsed buildings Monday as rescuers searched in a heavy downpour for survivors of an earthquake that toppled nearly half the buildings in this Turkish city.

Authorities raised the death toll from Sunday’s quake to 71, and dozens more were feared trapped. About 200 people were injured in the magnitude 6 quake, said Mustafa Secen, the city’s health director.

“God, please save my children!” Necati Ozturk implored, his arms stretched skyward as an excavator dug in the ruins of his house.

Searchers then pulled out the bodies of his son and 3-year-old grandson. His two daughters-in-law and five neighbors were still buried in the rubble.

Nearly 45% of Dinar’s buildings were destroyed, and wide cracks crisscrossed most of the remaining structures in the city of 100,000 people 175 miles southwest of Ankara, the capital.

Some residents criticized the lack of equipment and slow pace of the rescue effort. Thirty people were rescued Monday.