Death toll from quake in Turkey tops 14,000 - Erdogan

ISTANBUL. Feb 9 (Interfax) - The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey has risen to 14,014, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"The number of fatalities in the quake with the epicenter in the Kahramanmaras province has reached 14,014 and 63,794 people have been injured," the Anadolu news agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

It was reported earlier that 12,873 people died and 62,937 were injured in the quake.

According to Erdogan, the authorities plan to accommodate everyone who lost their homes in the quake. He also said that reconstruction in the quake-stricken provinces will be completed within a year.

Al Jazeera reported that 3,162 people were killed in the quake in Syria, which brings the total death toll in both countries to over 17,000.

A strong quake in the early hours of February 6 and its subsequent aftershocks caused substantial damage and loss of life in a number of Turkish provinces and neighboring Syria.