Turkey-Syria earthquake live: Rescuers pulled earthquake survivors from the shattered remnants of buildings, including some who endured more than 100 hours trapped under crushed concrete after the disaster slammed Turkey and Syria.
The number of dead in both countries rose to 24,804 according to Turkish officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses a network of activists on the ground. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to this week’s huge earthquake.
The first UN aid deliveries arrived on Thursday in Syrian rebel-held zones, but chances of finding survivors have dimmed since the passing of the three-day mark that experts consider a critical period to save lives. Turkish soldiers have started patrolling parts of the quake zone against plundering and theft.
Tens of thousands of people were still missing. The number of injured in Turkey is over 80,000, according to the country’s disaster management authority. The deaths have surpassed the toll from a 2011 earthquake off Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami, killing more than 18,400.
