Death Toll from Turkey/Syria Earthquake Passes 46,000

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ANTAKYA/KAHRAMANMARAS — More than 46,000 people have been killed in the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria and the toll is expected to soar, with some 264,000 apartments in Turkey destroyed and many still missing as rescuers listen for signs of life under the rubble.

Turkey is trying to manage its worst ever modern disaster. Concerns were growing about the fate of those in Syria. The World Food Programme (WFP), which was trying to assist hundreds of thousands of earthquake-ravaged people, called on the authorities in the northwest not to block access.

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Twelve days after the earthquake struck, workers from Kyrgyzstan attempted to rescue a family of five Syrians from the rubble in Antakya, a southern Turkish city.

Three people, including the child, were saved by rescuers. The rescue team reported that the father and mother survived, but the child later died from dehydration. A twin and an older sister were not able to make it.

“We heard shouts when we were digging today an hour ago. When we find people who are alive we are always happy,” Atay Olsmanov, a member, said to Reuters.

Ten ambulances were waiting on a nearby street, which was blocked to traffic so that the rescue workers could proceed.

Workers requested silence, and everyone was asked to sit or crouch as they climbed higher up the rubble to reach the top. The family was then able to hear any additional sounds with an electronic detector.

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As rescue efforts continued, one worker shouted into rubble: “Take a deep breath if you can hear my voice.”

As excavators arrived, workers immediately stopped the search and began to clear the rubble.

Turkey has recorded 40,642 deaths from the earthquake, while Syria has recorded more than 5,800, a number that has not changed over the past few days.

On the sidelines at the Munich Security Conference David Beasley, Director of WFP, stated that the Syrian and Turkish governments had been cooperating well but that the operation was being hampered by the conflict in northern Syria.

The agency said last week that stocks were running low and demanded more border crossings be opened from Turkey.

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“The problems we are running into [are with] the cross-line operations into northwest Syria where the northwestern Syrian authorities are not giving us the access we need,” Beasley.

“That is bottlenecking our operations. That has to get fixed straight away.”

“Time is running out and we are running out of money. Our operation is about $50 million a month for our earthquake response alone so unless Europe wants a new wave of refugees, we need get the support we need,” Beasley also added.

The majority of deaths in Syria’s civil war, which lasted more than a decade, have occurred in the northwest.

The insurgents are at war with President Bashar al Assad’s forces, which makes it difficult for people to receive aid.

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Thousands of Syrians who had sought refuge in Turkey from the civil war have returned to their homes in the war zone – at least for now.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Many international rescue teams have already left Turkey’s earthquake zone. However, local teams searched through the flattened buildings Saturday in an effort to find survivors who had defied all odds. Experts agree that the majority of rescues happen within 24 hours after an earthquake.

Experts and doctors expressed concerns about the possibility of spreading infection to the area after thousands of buildings collapsed last Wednesday, leaving the sanitation infrastructure in disrepair.

Fahrettin Koca, Turkish Minister of Health, said Saturday that while there has been an increase in upper and intestinal infections, they did not pose any serious threat to the public’s health. She also stated that measures are being taken to monitor and prevent future disease.

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“Our priority now is to fight against the conditions that can threaten public health and to prevent infectious diseases,” Koca addressed a news conference in southern Hatay Province.

Aid organizations warn that the survivors will require assistance for many months due to the destruction of so much infrastructure.

ANGER GROWS

Syria and Turkey have not yet provided information on the number of people still missing after the earthquake.

Families still waiting to find their relatives in Turkey are growing angry at what they perceive as corrupt building practices, badly planned urban development, and the disintegration of thousands of homes and businesses.

One of these buildings was the Ronesans Residence, which was a Renaissance Residence. It was destroyed in Antakya, killing hundreds.

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“It was said to be earthquake-safe, but you can see the result,” Hamza Alpaslan (47), whose brother lived in the block, said so. “It’s in horrible condition. There is neither cement nor proper iron in it. It’s a real hell.”

Turkey promised to investigate all those suspected of being responsible for the collapsed buildings, and has taken more than 100 suspects into custody, including developers.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun. Tom Perry. Tom Perry. Henriette. Chacar. Jonathan Spicer. Suhaib Salem. John Irish in Munich. Writing by Michael Georgy. Editing by Jane Merriman. David Holmes. Alexandra Hudson.