24,218 people have died in the terrible earthquake in Turkey-Syria so far. The death toll in Turkey has increased to 20,665. And the number of deaths in Syria is 3,553 people.
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake caused far more damage than the 1999 earthquake that killed more than 17,000 people in Turkey.
According to the new agencies, thousands of buildings have collapsed in both countries. Rescue workers are making strenuous efforts to retrieve the bodies of those trapped under the rubble.
In a statement on Friday, the White Helmets said they had conducted 108 hours of continuous search and rescue operations in rebel-held areas of northern and northwestern Syria since the earthquake, after which they believe there are no survivors trapped under the rubble.
According to new channels, emergency workers in Turkey are still trying to pull survivors out of the rubble of the earthquake and have had some success, although the operations have been extremely dangerous and difficult.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that those who are homeless and sheltered among survivors may face a second disaster as ‘situations become increasingly fragile and dire’ due to severe winter and snow.
WHO manager Robert Holden said, ‘Many people are homeless and living in dire conditions under the open sky. They are without shelter, water, fuel and electricity. This situation will cause another disaster, which will harm more people than the earthquake.’
Last Monday at 4:17 a.m., a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit the southeastern part of Turkey. Its center was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep on the Syrian border. Later several more earthquakes were felt.
