Rescue teams are still finding survivors under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Twelve days after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, more than 46,000 people have died and more than 84,000 buildings have either been badly damaged, are in urgent need of demolition or have collapsed, according to official figures.
As Turkey tries to cope with its worst modern disaster, concerns are growing over the victims of the tragedy in Syria, with the World Food Program (WFP) pressuring authorities in the northwest to stop blocking access to the area to help hundreds of thousands help people devastated by earthquakes.
Turkey’s death toll stands at 40,642 from the quake, while neighboring Syria has reported more than 5,800 deaths, a figure that hasn’t changed for several days.
Rescue attempts continue
Workers from Kyrgyzstan tried to rescue a Syrian family of five from the rubble of a building in the southern Turkish city of Antakya on Saturday. Three people, including a child, were rescued alive. The mother and father survived, but the child later died of dehydration, the rescue team said. An older sister and a twin didn’t make it.
Meanwhile, a toddler born during the earthquake in northern Syria has been reunited with his aunt and uncle after their parents and siblings died in the disaster.
Footage shared widely on social media after the quake showed a rescuer climbing down a hill of rubble carrying a tiny, dust-covered baby.
The newborn was later identified as the child of Abdallah and Afraa Mleihan, who died in the earthquake along with their other children in the rebel-held city of Jandaris, in Syria’s Aleppo province.
Finally, on Saturday, her paternal aunt Hala and her uncle by marriage Khalil Al-Sawadi picked up her niece – who they named Afraa after her late mother.
WFP operations in north-west Syria hampered
The head of the World Food Program (WFP) has urged authorities in north-west Syria to stop blocking access to the area to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by the earthquake.
WFP director David Beasley said the agency was running out of supplies there and was calling for more border crossings to be opened from Turkey.
“The problems we encounter [are with] the cross-border operations in north-west Syria, where the north-west Syrian authorities are not giving us the access we need,” Beasley said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
In Syria, already wracked by more than a decade of civil war, the North West has seen the highest number of deaths.
The area is controlled by militants fighting each other with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, complicating efforts to bring aid to the people.
public health concerns
Medical workers and experts have raised concerns about the potential spread of infection in the areas where tens of thousands of buildings collapsed and sanitation infrastructure was damaged last week.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Saturday that while the number of infections of the intestine and upper respiratory tract has increased, the number does not pose a serious threat to public health.
“Our priority now is to fight the conditions that can threaten public health and prevent infectious diseases,” Koca said at a news conference in southern Hatay province.
Aid organizations say the survivors will need help for months to come as so much essential infrastructure has been destroyed.
anger grows
Neither Turkey nor Syria have given any information on how many people are still missing after the quake.
For families still waiting to find relatives in Turkey, there is growing anger at what they see as corrupt building practices and a deeply flawed urban development that has left thousands of homes and businesses crumbling.
One such building was the Ronesans Rezidans (Renaissance Residence) which collapsed in Antakya, killing hundreds.
“It was said that it was earthquake-proof, but you can see the result,” said Hamza Alpaslan, 47, whose brother had lived on the block. “It’s in a terrible state. There’s no cement or real iron in there. It’s a real hell.”
Turkey has promised to investigate anyone suspected of causing the buildings to collapse and has ordered the detention of more than 100 suspects, including developers.