WTO General Council commemorates Turkey quake victims in minute of silence

The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday held a minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey.

The Permanent Mission of Turkey to the WTO on Twitter said an informal meeting of the General Council was held in the morning.

"A minute of silence was observed following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey," the mission noted.

"Many thanks to General Council Chair Amb Didier Chambovey, WTO and all members for their solidarity," it also said.

On Feb. 6, two powerful quakes struck southern Turkey.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and rocked 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the trembles that struck in less than 10 hours.

More than 41,000 people were killed by the back-to-back quakes in Turkey, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others were injured.