RESCUERS worked through the night into today to reach survivors trapped in the rubble of Monday’s devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and war-ravaged northern Syria. As the death toll surpassed 8,700, despair and anger were growing over the pace of rescue efforts.
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake has now reached 6,234 people in Turkey and some 2,500 in Syria, bringing the total to 8,704 – with rescuers warning time running out.
More than 34,000 were injured in Turkey. The UN children’s agency Unicef says thousands of children may have been killed.
As many as 23 million people could be affected by the disaster. The World Health Organization said the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers find more victims.
Monday’s quake, followed hours later by a second one almost as powerful, toppled thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, leaving thousands of people homeless.
State of emergency
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in the 10 provinces worst affected.
Some 70 countries around the world have mobilised to send support to help the rescue efforts, including specialist teams, sniffer dogs and other aid.
More than 12,000 Turkish search and rescue personnel are working in the affected areas, along with 9,000 troops.
The United Nations says it’s “exploring all avenues” to get supplies to rebel-held northwestern Syria, and it released $25 million from its emergency fund to help kick-start the humanitarian response.
Meanwhile anger is mounting over an “earthquake tax” levied by the Turkish government more than 20 years ago after more than 17,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit north-western Turkey in 1999.
The money, estimated at $4.6 billion, was meant to have been spent on disaster prevention and the development of emergency services.
