Ankara/Damascus: After the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake, that rocked Turkey and Syria, more than 19,300 people are killed and thousands are left homeless on the street suffering for basic necessities like food and water during the bitter cold. Survivors are appealing to the government to evacuate them from the devastated area, while many still stuck under debris.
Rescue efforts continued on Thursday as the death toll crossed 19,000, but hopes of finding survivors diminished on the fourth day of rescue workers.
The confirmed death toll in Turkey rose to 16,170 on Thursday. In Syria, already devastated by nearly 12 years of civil war, more than 3,000 people have died, according to the government and a rescue service in the rebel-held northwest.
Meanwhile, the first United Nations convoy carrying emergency aid to a rebel-held area of Syria stricken three days ago by a deadly earthquake crossed from Turkey on Thursday. The trucks, with materials from jerrycans to blankets, went via the Bab Al Hawa crossing to Idlib city in an area of northwest Syria where 4 million people, many uprooted by civil war, had relied on aid even before Monday’s quake.
As a part of India’s ‘Operation Dosth’, the sixth plane carrying rescue personnel, essentials and medical equipment for earthquake relief efforts reached Turkey on Thursday. The sixth flight carried more rescue teams, dog squads, and essential medicines for the quake-hit country. (Agencies)
