Turkiye-Syria Quake: Girl, 4, Rescued As Death Toll Hits 5,000

Rescuers in Turkiye’s Hatay have saved a four-year-old girl from the rubble of a collapsed building 33 hours after the devastating earthquake.

Death toll from Monday’s earthquake disaster that struck Turkiye and Syria tops 7,000 as the world continues to make interventionist efforts.

Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is warning of “catastrophic humanitarian needs” in Syria and Turkiye, as it appeals for funds and lifesaving support to those affected “before it is too late,” a statement by the organisation has said.

“With the response in its infancy the need for humanitarian aid is stark. Roads and infrastructure, like bridges, have been damaged meaning it will likely prove challenging to get supplies to those who need it most,” IRC Syria Country Director Tanya Evans said in the statement.

“Even before the earthquake, humanitarian access was constrained in northwest Syria, with most aid coming in via one crossing-point with Türkiye. In this time of increased need it is critical that the levels of aid crossing also increase at pace too,” she added.

The IRC has been working in Syria since 2012, responding to needs in northwest and northeast Syria.

In the same vein, the fire at Iskenderun Port on the Mediterranean Sea has been extinguished, Reuters reports, citing the Turkish defence ministry.

After the earthquake struck on Monday, images and videos showed burning containers and thick black smoke rising overhead.

Also, UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, has said it was ready to provide assistance after two sites listed on its world heritage list in Syria and Turkiye  sustained damage in the devastating earthquake.

As well as the damage to the old city of Syria’s Aleppo and the fortress in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakr, UNESCO said at least three other world heritage sites could be affected, including the famous archaeological site Nemrut Dag.