Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/ANKARA: The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkiye and Syria jumped to more than 7,800 on Tuesday as workers struggled against times in harsh winters to save survivors out of the debris of collapsed buildings.
Death toll may rise further
Authorities warned that the death toll could rise further as more bodies were found from underneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The devastating tremor killed more than 7,800 people and injured tens of thousands in both countries.
According to officials, the search for the survivors was under way under the rubble of thousands of buildings that collapsed in both countries.
Aid agencies expressed their worries about northwestern Syria, where over 4 million people were already relying on humanitarian help.
Authorities said that frigid weather conditions were hampering humanitarian assistance and rescue efforts, as over 100 aftershocks have so far struck the region.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake, one of the strongest to strike the region in over 100 years, struck 23 kilometres east of Nurdagi in Turkey’s Gaziantep province and at a depth of 24.1 kilometres.
Rescuers are desperately searching for survivors in southern Turkey and northern Syria after two massive earthquakes on Monday.
Relatives of victims who lived in collapsed buildings also joined frantic rescue efforts in one of the worst-hit Turkish cities, using pickaxes and crowbars.
Some anguished families said rescue services took too long to respond in some areas.
One UN official said that the quake could have killed thousands of children.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 quake-hit provinces. Still, residents in several quake-hit Turkish cities expressed anger and despair at the slow and inadequate response from the authorities.
Murat Alinak, whose home in Malatya had collapsed and whose relatives were missing, told Reuters there was not even a single person. He said they were under the snow, without a home or anything. He said what shall they do and where will they go.
Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake brought down thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartments, and left thousands of people homeless in Turkey and northern Syria.
