As the first UN supplies arrived in Syrian rebel-held areas on Thursday, the dead toll from the enormous earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria continued to rise, surpassing 20,000, while prospects of finding more survivors waned.
The four-day search for thousands of destroyed houses has been impeded by the bitter cold, endangering many earthquake victims’ lives who lack shelter and access to water.
As a sign of the tragedy’s scope, relatives were left searching among corpse bags spread out in a hospital parking lot in Antakya, Turkey, for missing family members.
Rania Zaboubi, a Syrian refugee who lost eight family members while other survivors looked for their bodies, said, “We discovered my aunt, but not my uncle.”
Since the 72-hour window, which experts believe to be the most likely time to save life, has gone, the likelihood of discovering survivors has decreased.
In a region where many had already experienced loss and displacement due to Syria’s ongoing war, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck as residents slept early on Monday.
An official at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing told AFP that a relief convoy arrived in rebel-held northwest Syria on Thursday, marking the first since the earthquake.
The bridge is the only route for UN aid to civilians that does not pass via Syrian government forces’ restricted regions.
Hospitals had already been devastated, the economy had already collapsed, and there had been electricity, fuel, and water shortages due to a decade of civil conflict and aerial bombardment by Syria and Russia.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to approve the opening of new humanitarian supplies crossing points between Turkey and Syria.
As part of a cross-border aid mission approved by the Security Council nearly ten years ago, four million people living in the rebel-held territories of northwest Syria have been forced to rely on the one and only Bab al-Hawa crossing.
It is evident that we need a lot of support, but this is the time for unity, not for politicization or splintering, Guterres remarked.
Thousands of families spent the night in cars and makeshift tents in the Turkish city of Gaziantep early on Thursday because they were too afraid to go home or were forbidden from doing so. The temperature there dropped to minus five degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).
Because it was warmer than waiting in a tent, parents carried their children on their shoulders as they went through the city, which was close to the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake.
Some individuals have found refuge with neighbors or family members. Some people have departed the area. However, many people are stuck.
Schools, mosques, gyms, and several retail establishments now stay open late. However, there are still not enough beds, and thousands of people spend their evenings in automobiles that are running to provide heat.
Melek Halici, a mother of a two-year-old girl, said, “When we sit down, it is painful, and I fear for anyone who is stuck under the rubble in this,” as she and her daughter observed rescuers working late into the night.
According to international rescuers, the extreme cold has made them decide between using their limited fuel sources to stay warm or to complete their task.
No one has forgotten to mention the cold, according to Greek fire official Athanassios Balafas in Athens. Naturally, we decided to continue our business.
Following increasing internet criticism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday “There are problems. The circumstances are plain to discern. You can never be prepared for a catastrophe like this.”
Turkey hasn’t had an earthquake of this size since 33,000 people died in the eastern region of Erzincan in 1939.
Officials and medical personnel reported that 17,406 fatalities from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday occurred in Turkey and 3,317 in Syria, bringing the confirmed death toll to 20,723.
Experts anticipate a big increase in the number.
Thousands of local and international rescuers are still looking for more survivors despite the challenges.
39 Turkish Cypriots, including 20 children and some of their parents, were on a school trip to southeast Turkey’s Adiyaman to participate in a volleyball tournament when the tremor hit their accommodation.
The government of their home region issued a national mobilization order and hired a private plane so that they could participate in the search and rescue operation for the kids.
Ilhami Bilgen, whose brother Hasan played volleyball, peered at the ominous heap of huge bricks and concrete slabs that had once been the hotel.
“Over there is a hollow. It’s possible that the kids crawled in there “explained Bilgen. We haven’t given up on hope yet.
The United States and China are among the dozens of countries that have offered their assistance, and rescue teams and relief materials have already arrived.
The earthquake’s economic damage is expected to exceed $2 billion and may perhaps reach $4 billion or more, according to Fitch Ratings, in addition to the horrifying death toll.
