By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit:Omar Sanadiki.
Istabul, Feb 7 – Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday that the death toll from the earthquakes centred in southeastern Turkey rose to 3,419, bringing the total including those killed in Syria to more than 5,000.
Speaking to reporters, Oktay said severe weather conidtions made it difficult to bring aid to the affected regions and conduct rescues. He said only rescue and aid vehicles were being allowed to enter or leave Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman, three of the most impacted provinces.
“Every second means saving lives and we call on all humanitarian organisations to give material aid and respond to this catastrophe urgently,” he said.
Turkey’s disaster management agency said it had 11,342 reports of collapsed buildings, of which 5,775 had been confirmed.
People in remote towns in southern Turkey described how relief efforts were stretched to breaking point, amid destruction over a border region spanning almost 650 miles.
In rebel-held northern Syria, volunteer rescue workers said they lacked some of the most basic fuel and other provisions required to pull those still trapped under the rubble of their homes.
An unknown number of people remain trapped and efforts to find survivors have been frustrated by frigid conditions. Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit cities in Turkey’s south, home to millions of people, also hindered rescue teams.
Meanwhile the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday it was especially concerned about areas of Turkey and Syria from which no information had emerged following a major earthquake that killed thousands.
“We’re especially concerned about areas where we do not yet have information,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the WHO’s executive board meeting in Geneva.
“Damage mapping is one way to understand where we need to focus our attention.”
Source: News Agencies.