Turkey-Syria Quakes: Rescue Efforts Continue As Death Toll Passes 45,000

Rescue efforts and humanitarian services have increased following the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria even as the death toll has passed 45,000 yesterday.

Total number of people killed in Turkey hit 40,642, while the Syrian government and the UN said more than 5,800 people have died there.

Rescue teams in Turkey’s Hatay rescued a 45-year-old man alive after he spent 278 hours under the rubble.

A total of 178 UN trucks carrying aid from Turkey into northwest Syria have crossed the border since February 9.

Turkey is caring for 1,589 children who have been separated from their families following the earthquakes.

In the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, which was the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude quake, people are now in the transition phase of looking to rebuild their lives.

Many have been put up in tent cities, said Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, where vital humanitarian aid is being delivered to them.

“Schools are being used to give out blankets, food, water – anything that people may need,” Baig said, reporting from the city.

“There is rubble absolutely everywhere. Amongst the concrete and twisted metal there are people’s homes, former lives where you can see mattresses, books, clothes … all the contents of their homes crushed in a matter of minutes.”

People have been going through the rubble trying to recover anything that they can, Baig added.

“After this is all settled, many of these people will have to rebuild their lives,” he said. “They won’t be able to go back to their homes either because they’re completely destroyed or so damaged that they are unsafe.”

Following the post-earthquake international show of solidarity, Greece said that it wanted to use the “window of opportunity” to reduce tensions between the two countries.

“The reception of Greek aid and the Greek flag by Turkish society opens a window of opportunity to reduce the tension in the relations between the two people,” deputy foreign minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told private broadcaster Action 24.

“We want to take advantage of this window of opportunity,” he said, noting that there could be a detente in bilateral relations.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia continued their humanitarian assistance for the victims of the earthquakes.

The UAE dispatched 39 aid planes to Turkey and 58 planes to government-controlled areas in Syria, carrying 2,624 tonnes of foodstuffs, medical supplies and tents since the disaster, the state news agency WAM reported.

“UAE search and rescue teams continue efforts to search for survivors under debris using quality equipment,” WAM said.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia sent its 12th aid plane to Gaziantep Airport in southern Turkey carrying 75 tonnes of foodstuffs, shelter and medical materials.

The kingdom also sent two aid planes and 10 trucks loaded with 80 tonnes of food and shelter supplies for quake victims in northern Syria.

Following the disaster, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center launched a donation drive on February 8 for the earthquake victims in both Turkey and Syria.

More than 362 million riyals (nearly $96m) have been collected so far as part of the drive, according to the Saudi government’s Sahem Platform, which is responsible for the donation campaign.