More than 21,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria after earthquakes swept through the region Monday. Rescue workers are now racing against time to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings in freezing winter conditions.
At least 78,124 people were injured across both countries, according to authorities.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The natural disaster is one of the deadliest earthquakes in two decades.
Here are the latest developments:
Survivors still being rescued days later in Turkey: A mother and her 6-year-old daughter were rescued from a collapsed house in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş Thursday, 68 hours after the massive tremor. German aid organization @fire, working alongside British aid organization SARAID, said that the mother and child were located in the rubble of the collapsed building around 5 a.m. local time on Wednesday. A family of three, including two brothers and their mother, were rescued in the 78th hour in Pazarcik in Kahramanmaras province. And in Hatay province, a 10-year-old girl was found alive in the 90th hour after the quake. The first thing she asked for after her rescue was milk, officials said in a statement. However, the Syria Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, warned that the hope of finding survivors is now fading inside Syria.
Nations around the world working to get aid to Syria: France on Thursday pledged to give 12 million euros ($12.92 million) to Syrians impacted by the quake, the foreign ministry said. The aid will be channeled through the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations “working directly with affected populations in all of the areas struck by the earthquake,” it said. Many Western nations have refused to send aid directly to the Syrian regime, which is under sanctions. The United Kingdom pledged an additional 3 million pounds ($3.64 million) in funding to the White Helmets to support rescue and emergency relief operations in northwest Syria. Britain has so far given a total of 3.8 million pounds ($4.62 million) to the White Helmets, a volunteer organization of humanitarian responders. The United States will provide $85 million for humanitarian assistance in Turkey and Syria.
UN working to open more pathways to deliver aid to Syria: A UN aid convoy crossed from Turkey into northwestern Syria on Thursday for the first time since the earthquake hit. The six trucks carrying shelter items and Non-Food Items (NFI) drove through the Bab Al Hawa border crossing, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he is open to the idea of delivering aid via additional border crossings, other than the Bab al-Hawa, which is the only humanitarian aid corridor approved by the United Nations between Turkey and rebel-held areas of northern Syria.
How you can help: Donate to victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria here.
