Turkish prosecutors are investigating dozens of people for “provocative” social media messages about a deadly earthquake in eastern Turkey, AFP reported, citing Turkish media.
The death toll from Friday’s quake in Elazığ province had reached 41 on Monday as hopes dimmed of finding more survivors amid the rubble.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office is investigating 50 people on suspicion of “spreading fear and panic” and “insulting the Turkish people, the Turkish Republic and state institutions,” the Hürriyet daily said.
The suspects are accused of sharing fake images about the quake on social media. Turkish authorities were winding up their rescue efforts on Monday.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told reporters that 24,000 tents had been provided, 1,000 container shelters were being built and funds would be released to repair damaged buildings.
Thirty-seven of the victims died in Elazığ and four in the neighboring province of Malatya, officials said.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 86 of the injured were still being treated in hospitals — 18 of them in intensive care.