Turkish officials lower quake death toll by 10 to 41, citing inaccurate reports

Turkish officials lower quake death toll to 41

KAYALIK, Turkey — Turkish officials on Wednesday lowered the death toll in this week’s magnitude 6 earthquake from 51 to 41.

A statement issued by the governor’s office in the eastern province of Elazig said erroneous reporting was responsible for the earlier toll in Monday’s temblor.

NTV and Haberturk television said there was duplicate counting in cases where the maiden surnames and married surnames of the same women were reported as belonging to different victims. The Anatolia news agency said one male victim was also counted twice because he had changed his name.

Anatolia also said some victims were not registered in written records, and relatives had to identify them and provide names.

The quake hit remote villages in Elazig before dawn, burying sleeping people in their beds.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to visit the quake zone on Thursday. He has blamed loss of life on the shoddy mud-brick buildings commonly built in the area, but official pledges to build safer homes after past quakes have had limited impact.