“Rescuers Race Against Time to Find Earthquake Survivors in Southeastern Turkey”

Rescuers battle heavy rain and snow as they race against the clock to find survivors of a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey.

At least 3,500 people were killed in Turkey and across the border in Syria when the quake struck in the early hours of Monday.

The World Health Organization has warned the toll could increase eightfold as rescuers find more victims.

Many people in the disaster area are too afraid to return to the buildings.

The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck Monday at 04:17 (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep, according to the US Geological Survey.

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Seismologists say it is one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey. Survivors say it took two minutes for the shaking to stop.

A later quake had a magnitude of 7.5 and its epicenter was in Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.

Map showing where the tremors were

As the aftershocks continued, some rescuers dug through rubble with their bare hands, searching for survivors.

In the Turkish city of Osmaniye, near the epicenter, torrential rain hampered rescue workers searching for survivors in the rubble.

The city was without power when the cold and rain set in.

One family camped out on the street despite the freezing temperatures, fearing the aftershocks would bring down another building.

A family warms up around a fire in Osmaniye

Each time they felt an aftershock, the family would move closer to the middle of the street.

A hotel owner in the city told the BBC that of 14 guests staying that night, only seven had been found.

Countries around the world are sending support to aid the rescue effort, including specialist teams, sniffer dogs and equipment.

But the earthquake caused significant damage at three airports in Turkey and also posed challenges for aid deliveries.

Many of the deaths occurred in war-torn northern Syria, where millions of refugees live in camps on the Turkish border.

A medical team takes an injured person to a hospital in Istanbul

British-born doctor Shajul Islam has been working at Al-Shifa’s hospital in Idlib, northern Syria, for the past seven years. He told BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight that the carnage at the hospital was the worst ever seen.

“Our hospital is full. We currently have about 300 to 400 patients in the hospital … we literally have two to three patients per bed,” he said.

He said he looks after 40-45 critically ill patients in intensive care: “I take patients off ventilators to give to other patients who may have a greater chance of survival. We are literally at the entrance to the hospital deciding which patients we want to save.”

After an international call for help, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 45 countries had offered support.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an international response, saying many of the families affected by the disaster “already need urgent humanitarian assistance in areas where access is difficult”.

The European Union is sending search and rescue teams to Turkey, and rescuers from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way. Britain has announced it will send 76 specialists, equipment and rescue dogs.

France, Germany, Israel and the US have also pledged help. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered aid to both Turkey and Syria, as has Iran.

Turkey is located in one of the most active seismic zones in the world.

In 1999, a quake in the northwest killed more than 17,000 people, while in 1939, 33,000 people died in the eastern province of Erzincan.

This earthquake was strong enough to be felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel.

Map with damage zone

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