Antakya, Turkey (AP) – Thousands of people displaced by the devastating earthquake gather around a campfire in the bitter cold, three days after an earthquake and a series of aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria.
Rescuers used pickaxes, shovels, and jackhammers to dig through the twisted metal and concrete, sometimes dragging out survivors. In some places, however, the focus has shifted to the demolition of unstable buildings.
Stories of miraculous rescues were temporarily uplifting, but the stark reality of the hardships faced by the tens of thousands of people who survived the disaster was overshadowed. , surpassing the death toll from 2011 Japan earthquake, which killed more than 18,400 people. Northwestern Syria is the first UN aid truck to enter rebel-held territory from Turkey since the earthquake struck, highlighting the difficulty of getting aid to people in the war-torn country. doing. Meanwhile, in the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens of people swarmed in front of trucks distributing children’s coats and other relief items.
One of his survivors, Ahmet Tokgoz, called on the government to evacuate people from the affected areas. Many of the tens of thousands of displaced people have taken refuge in tents, stadiums and other makeshift shelters, while others are spending the night outdoors.
Winter weather and damage to roads and airports have hampered responses in both Turkey and Syria. Efforts are further complicated by civil wars that have displaced millions of people in Turkey and Syria. Some Turkish people complain that the response has been too slow. The realization could hurt President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces an uphill battle for re-election in May.
In the Turkish city of Elbistan, rescuers stood atop a tall pile of rubble of collapsed houses and hoisted a missing elderly woman.
More and more, however, teams pulled bodies from under the rubble. In Antakya, Turkey, more than 100 bodies lay covered in blankets in makeshift morgues and refrigerated trucks outside a hospital.
Teams began demolition of buildings in several locations as the chances of finding a living person in the rubble decreased. In others, they just had to move on.
A man who gave only his first name, Ahmet, for fear of government retaliation, later asked his AP:
“How am I going to get home and sleep? My brother is there. Maybe he’s still alive.”
Mehmet Yilmaz watched from afar and estimated that there were about 80 people still under the rubble, but it was thought unlikely that anyone would be recovered alive.
Authorities called off search and rescue operations in the towns of Kilis and Şanlıurfa on Thursday, but the damage was not as severe as in other areas. Aid trickled in across the borders of conflict-torn Syria. A small aid organization has been sending supplies to rebel-held northwestern Syria, but the first UN trucks began arriving on Thursday.The UN has allowed aid to be delivered only through border crossings. road damage has so far prevented this.
UN officials said more was needed, arguing that humanitarian concerns should take precedence over politics.
The level of loss and suffering that people tended to suffer was still massive. Turkish officials said on Thursday that the death toll in the country had risen to more than 16,100, with more than 64,000 injured.
Delivery to the United Nations was scheduled before the earthquake but was delayed due to road damage. A UN official said more trucks would follow suit.
