Searches continue in Turkey and Syria as earthquake death toll tops 5,000
The desperate search for survivors of the multiple earthquakes that have rocked Turkey and Syria over the past 48 hours continued on Tuesday as more bodies were found, the death toll topping 5,000.
The death toll is feared to rise inexorably, with some aid agency officials estimating up to 20,000 dead, AFP reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning on Monday evening as the extent of the damage and the death toll became clearer.
The initial earthquake was so strong that it was even felt in Greenland, and the impact is large enough to cause a global reaction.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he was particularly concerned about parts of Turkey and Syria, from which no information had been received since the massive earthquake that killed thousands.
Smoke rises from the port of Iskenderun as rescuers work at the site of a building collapse on February 7, 2023 in Iskenderun, Turkey. (Burak Kara/Getty Images)
“We are particularly concerned about areas for which we do not yet have information,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a WHO executive board meeting in Geneva. “The damage map is one way to figure out what to focus on.”
Countries around the world have sent teams to assist with rescue efforts, and the Turkish Disaster Management Agency said more than 24,400 emergency workers are currently on the ground, AP reported.
But with such a vast area hit by Monday’s quake and the confirmed collapse of nearly 6,000 buildings in Turkey alone, their efforts have been dispersed.
At least 3,381 people have died in 10 Turkish provinces and more than 20,000 have been injured, according to the latest figures from Turkish authorities on Tuesday.
A woman waits for news of her loved ones who are believed to be trapped under a collapsed building on February 7, 2023 in Iskenderun, Turkey. (Burak Kara/Getty)
Wounded survivors of the earthquake wait for treatment at a field hospital on February 6, 2023 in Iskenderun, Turkey. (Burak Kara/Getty)
Emergency crews search for people among the rubble of a collapsed building in Adana, southern Turkey, on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) #
The death toll in government-controlled areas of Syria has risen to 769, with about 1,450 injured, according to the health ministry. In the rebel-held northwest, groups operating there have said at least 450 people have died and hundreds more have been injured.
Authorities fear the death toll will continue to rise as rescuers search for survivors among piles of metal and concrete strewn across a region wracked by a 12-year Syrian civil war and refugee crisis.
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