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ADANA, Turkey (AP) – A frantic race to find more survivors and help the injured was underway on Tuesday as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria the previous day hit 4,600. The toll is likely to rise as freezing weather and multiple aftershocks hamper rescue efforts – despite international aid.
Here’s the latest on the aftermath of Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria.
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Turkey has deployed more than 24,400 search and rescue workers to the quake area.
The number was expected to increase with the arrival of additional personnel, although wintry conditions hampered their deployment, said Orhan Tatar, an official with the Disaster Management Agency.
“The adverse weather conditions continue in the region. As such, it can be difficult at times to transport these search and rescue teams to the region,” he said.
Temperatures in the earthquake city of Gaziantep dropped to -5°C (23°F) overnight.
Tatar said 10 ships were supporting the rescue effort by transporting the wounded to hospitals, mostly from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun.
About 55 helicopters carried out 154 sorties to transport relief supplies and about 85 trucks distributed food, he said.
Tatar said his agency received 11,342 reports of collapsed buildings, but only 5,775 of those reports were confirmed.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:
— Rescuers worked to pull more survivors from the rubble as cold, snowy conditions shorten the time it takes to save lives.
— The earthquake has wreaked new havoc and suffering in Syria’s last rebel-held enclave after years of fighting and bombing.
— Dozens of countries are sending experts and aid workers to help rescue efforts.
— Interesting facts about the science behind the powerful quake and its aftershocks.
– Soccer player Christian Atsu is missing and believed to be trapped under rubble.
– A look at some of the deadliest earthquakes in the world since 2000.
— For more AP coverage of the earthquake, visit https://apnews.com/hub/earthquakes
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A large fire that broke out at a section of a port in an earthquake-hit city in southeastern Turkey has raged for a second day.
TV images Tuesday showed thick black smoke billowing from burning containers at the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun in the town of Iskenderun. The fire was reportedly caused by containers that fell during Monday’s powerful earthquake in southeastern Turkey.
Turkey’s state agency Anadolu said a Turkish Coast Guard vessel is assisting efforts to extinguish the fire.
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Medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders said a staff member was found dead under the rubble of his home in Syria’s Idlib province after the powerful earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.
The group says other members of the organization have also lost families.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the impact of this disaster on the thousands of people affected, including our colleagues and their families,” said Sebastien Gay, the group’s head of mission in Syria.
Gay said health facilities in northern Syria are overwhelmed with medical staff working around the clock to respond to the large number of casualties.
The area in Syria devastated by the earthquake is divided into government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by government forces and borders Turkey.
Gay said needs are very high in north-west Syria, where the earthquake has added a dramatic layer for vulnerable people who are still struggling after many years of war. “The massive consequences of this disaster will require an (expanded) international aid effort,” he said. ___
India and South Korea are among nations sending rescue workers and supplies after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and northern Syria.
India said it would send 100 members of its Natural Disaster Response Force, specially trained canine squads and equipment to Turkey. Medical teams with trained doctors, paramedics and essential medicines are also ready, the State Department said in a statement.
South Korea will send a 60-strong search and rescue team with medical supplies. It also makes an initial donation of US$5 million to Turkey.
Announcing the plan on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol described Turkey as a “brother nation” that sent troops to fight alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. Turkey lost more than 700 of its armed forces in action.
South Korea’s defense ministry is arranging plans with related agencies to mobilize military aircraft to transport rescue workers and supplies, ministry spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said.
“It is an obvious decision to help our brother country Turkey deal with this pain and difficulty,” Yoon said during a cabinet meeting. “An incident involving such enormous losses is more than just a disaster of a particular nation and should be regarded as an international disaster, and the international society should fully assume its duty and responsibility.”
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War-ravaged Syria is calling on the United Nations and all member states to help with rescue efforts, health services, shelter and food aid following a massive earthquake that killed thousands in Syria and Turkey.
The area in Syria devastated by the earthquake is divided into government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by government forces and borders Turkey.
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, told reporters that UN Secretary-General António Guterres “assured us that the UN will do everything in its power to help Syria in this very difficult situation.” Sabbagh said he delivered a letter to Guterres from the country’s foreign minister asking for help.
Sabbagh was asked if Syria would agree to allow the UN to deliver aid through other border crossings out of Turkey, if feasible. He did not respond directly, but said the government stands ready to help and coordinate aid shipments “to all Syrians in all areas of Syria.”
The rebel-held area depended on a flow of aid from nearby Turkey for anything from food to medical supplies.
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President Joe Biden called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer his condolences. The White House said in a statement that Biden had “underscored the United States’ willingness to provide any and all assistance needed to its NATO ally Turkey.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration is deploying two 79-strong urban search and rescue teams to support Turkey’s efforts.
Biden and Erdogan discussed other assistance that earthquake victims may need, including health services or basic supplies, according to the White House.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a seven-day national mourning after the deadly earthquakes that hit the country on Monday. Turkish flags will fly at half-mast across the country and at its overseas diplomatic missions.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 1,651 people had died and 11,119 were injured in ten provinces. Hundreds more deaths were reported in neighboring Syria.
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The Roman Catholic official in charge of church properties in the Middle East offers food and shelter to victims of Monday’s earthquake.
Rev. Francesco Patton, the Jerusalem-based custodian of the Holy Land, says he will open all church buildings in northern Syria to offer shelter to families who have lost their homes.
His office, the Custodia Terrae Sanctae, says the properties can house hundreds of people and provide food and medical care to thousands.
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Diplomats from the 193 member countries of the United Nations paid tribute to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
General Assembly President Csaba Korosi expressed “our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences” to the government and people of both countries on Monday.
He then urged diplomats to “stand up and observe a minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives.” Korosi spoke at the start of a meeting to hear UN Secretary-General António Guterres outline his priorities for 2023.
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Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said such a disaster could happen “once in a hundred years” and his country should be prepared for the death toll to rise.
Oktay also said that after the deadly quake, about 145 aftershocks were recorded overnight, three of which were greater than 6.0 magnitude.
The Associated Press
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