Turkey, Syria: Death Toll Rose in Devastating Earthquake

Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria rose past 4,400 on Tuesday, with ‘despair’ mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts.

In the Turkish city of Antakya near the Syrian border, where 10-storey buildings crumbled onto the streets, rescue work being conducted on one out of dozens of mounds of rubble. Reports said.

The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city.

The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria early on Monday, “toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.”

In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 2,921 people, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, AFAD, said.

Reuters /Shakirat Sadiq