Monitoring Desk
ISTANBUL: The death toll from a massive earthquake that jolted Turkiye and Syria rose above 11,200 on Wednesday as rescuers raced to save the lives of survivors trapped under the debris of ruined buildings in the winter cold.
Officials and medics said around 8,574 people had died in Turkiye and over 2,662 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, bringing the total to more than 11,236.
Nearly 50,000 people were also wounded in Turkiye, and another 5,000 are reported injured in Syria, rescuers and officials on both sides said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shared updates on the casualty figures during a visit to Kahramanmaras, a southern Turkish city at the epicenter of the initial quake.
Turkish President visits quake-hit areas
Television images showed him hugging a weeping older woman and walking through a large crowd toward a Red Crescent humanitarian relief tent.
Facing a tough May 14 re-election, President Erdogan pledged to rebuild the damaged regions within a year.
Erdogan also appeared to push back against criticism that the government’s response to Turkiye’s worst disaster in decades has been slow.
“Initially, there were issues on the roads and at airports, but today things are getting easier, and tomorrow it will be much easier,” he said in televised remarks.
“We have mobilized all our available resources,” he added. “The state is doing its job for rescue and relief of victims.”
