Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL: Rescuers are fighting heavy snow and rain as they race against the clock to search for survivors of the devastating earthquake in southeast Turkey.
More than 4,300 people have lost their lives so far, and 15,000 got injured in Turkiye and Syria when the devastating quake struck in the early morning on Monday. The World Health Organization has been alarmed that the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers search for more bodies.
Many people in the disaster area are too frightened to return to their homes in highrise buildings. According to the American Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 04:17 on Monday at a depth of 17.9km near Gaziantep.
One of the most devastating earthquakes
According to seismologists, it was one of the most recorded earthquakes in the country, where at least 2,921 people are now confirmed to have been killed. According to survivors, the shaking didn’t stop for two minutes.
Another tremor later had a magnitude of 7.5, and the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province was its epicenter. The Turkish city of Maras, near the earthquake’s epicenter, is near the center of the quake and is thought to be one of the worst-affected locations, was at a standstill as the day broke on Tuesday.
Cars periodically plodded forward, their red brake lights illuminating the slick road. Rescuers have yet to make it to this part of southern Turkiye, and everyone is trying to get there as fast as possible to reach the affected area and give much-needed help.
One rescue and search team on their way to this city, their van loaded with specialist supplies and equipment, shared with the BBC that they were eager to get there and start search work for survivors, but they had no clear idea how worst the devastation would be when they reach.
As the chain of aftershocks continues, rescue workers in some areas have been digging through debris with their hands, searching for survivors.
In the Osmaniye, a Turkish city near the epicenter, rain hampered rescue workers as they searched through the rubble, searching for possible survivors. The city was without power as the rain and cold set in.
One family camped near the road, despite the frigid temperatures, as they feared the aftershocks triggering more buildings to collapse. The family moved closer to the middle of the street every time they felt an aftershock. A hotel owner in the city said only seven had been found of 14 guests staying that night.
Countries worldwide are sending support to help the rescue work, including sniffer dogs, equipment, and specialist teams. But the earthquake has caused massive damage to three major airports across Turkiye, creating challenges for aid deliveries.
At least 1,400 people are now said to have been killed in Syria, where millions of refugees live in camps on the Turkish border.
Following an international appeal for help, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkiye, said 45 countries had offered support.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for international assistance, saying that many of the families hit by the earthquake were “already in dire need of humanitarian assistance in areas where access is a big challenge.”
The European Union is sending rescue and search teams to Turkiye, while rescuers from Romania and the Netherlands have already started their journey. The UK has said it will send equipment, rescue dogs, and 76 specialists.
France, Germany, the US, Iran, and Israel, have also pledged to assist. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has offered help to Syria and Turkiye.
Turkiye lies in one of the most active earthquake zones in the world. A quake in 1999 killed more than 17,000 in the northwest, while 33,000 people died in the eastern province of Erzincan in 1939. This earthquake was so powerful that it was felt as far away as Cyprus, Israel, and Lebanon.
