More than three days after the devastating earthquake and series of aftershocks in Turkey and Syria that killed more than 15,000 people, rescuers rescued many survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings on Thursday, but many more. Hopes of finding survivors are fading.
Paramedics operating during the night in Antakya pulled the girl from the ruins and rescued her father alive two hours later, according to the IHA news agency.
In Diyarbakir, east of Antakya, rescuers freed an injured woman from a collapsed building early in the morning, but found three people dead in the rubble next to her, according to the DHA news agency. It is said that
In Turkey, 12,391 people were killed and more than 60,000 injured, according to the country’s Disaster Management Agency. More than 2,900 people were reported dead on the Syrian side.
Tens of thousands of people are believed to have lost their homes. In Antakya, former residents of a collapsed building huddled around a bonfire on Thursday night, wrapping themselves in blankets to try to keep warm.
Serap Arslan said many people, including his mother and brother, remained under the rubble of a nearby building. It wasn’t until Wednesday that machines started moving some of the heavy concrete, he said.
The 45-year-old said he “tried to clear it on our own, but unfortunately we weren’t strong enough.”
Wiping tears with her gloved hands, Selen Ekimen explained that her parents and her brother are still buried.
She hasn’t heard from me for days.” “None”.
Experts say the window for survival is rapidly shrinking for those trapped under rubble and those unable to meet their basic needs. At the same time, he said, “It’s too early to give up hope.”
“The first 72 hours are considered critical,” said Stephen Godby, a natural disaster expert at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. 22%, 6% on the fifth day. ”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the hard-hit Hatay province on Wednesday, where residents criticized the government’s efforts to slow the arrival of rescuers.
According to the Disaster Management Agency, more than 110,000 rescue teams have participated in the rescue operation, and more than 5,500 vehicles including tractors, cranes, bulldozers and excavators are deployed.
But the task is daunting, as thousands of buildings have collapsed in the disaster.
Erdogan, who faces a tough re-election campaign in May, admitted there were problems with his emergency response to Monday’s 7.8‑magnitude earthquake, but said winter weather was a factor.
The earthquake also destroyed the runway at Hatay Airport, further hampering the response.
“It is impossible to prepare for such a catastrophe,” Erdogan declared. He criticized the government’s actions for “not abandoning a single citizen” and saying that “disgraceful people” were spreading “lies and slander”.
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