Turkey-Syria earthquake: hope fading as death toll passes 17,000
- With hope of finding earthquake survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched for signs of life in rubble
- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responds to criticism over response to earthquake during visit to disaster zone
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Turkish president Erdogan visits quake survivors amid criticism over rescue efforts
Freezing temperatures deepened the misery on Thursday for survivors of a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria that killed more than 17,000 people, as rescuers raced to save countless people still trapped under rubble.
The death toll from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake is expected to rise sharply as rescue efforts pass the 72-hour mark that disaster experts consider the most likely period to save lives.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday conceded “shortcomings” after criticism of his government’s response to the earthquake, one of the deadliest this century.
Survivors have been left to scramble for food and shelter – and in some cases watch helplessly as their relatives called for rescue, and eventually went silent under the debris.
“My nephew, my sister-in-law and my sister-in-law’s sister are in the ruins. They are trapped under the ruins and there is no sign of life,” said Semire Coban, a kindergarten teacher, in Turkey’s Hatay province.
“We can’t reach them. We are trying to talk to them, but they are not responding … We are waiting for help. It has been 48 hours now,” she said.
Still, rescuers kept pulling survivors from the debris as the death toll continued to rise.
