While a race against time and the cold continues to extricate survivors of the violent earthquakes which ravaged the Region, the death toll rose again on Thursday, exceeding 17,500 dead in the two countries. Some 14,351 people have died in Turkey and 3,162 in Syria, according to authorities and medical sources.
Relief workers in Turkey and Syria continue Thursday their efforts in freezing cold to search for survivors in the rubble, the chances of survival dwindling three days after the earthquake which has already killed more than 17,500 people. The first 72 hours are crucial for finding survivors, with more than 90% of survivors being rescued during this window, said Ilan Kelman, a disaster researcher at University College London.
As diggers work day and night, the fresh drop in temperatures makes living conditions hellish for those survivors who have nowhere to go. Some 14,351 people died in Turkey and 3,162 in Syria, according to authorities and medical sources, bringing the total number of victims to 17,513.
UN emergency aid
The UN has received assurances that part of the emergency humanitarian aid “will pass this Thursday” through the only authorized crossing point between Turkey and northwestern Syria, the report said. UN special envoy Geir Pedersen in Geneva.
“We had assurances that we could get the first humanitarian aid through” through the Bab al-Hawaa crossing point, Geir Pedersen said during a brief press briefing, also calling “not to politicize” aid to the Syrian population hard hit by the earthquakes earlier this week.