Turkey-Syria Earthquake Updates: Erdogan Says Country Had Problems with Initial Response as Death Toll Over 11,200

Doctor Mohamad Zitoun spent years treating casualties from the Syrian war but has never experienced anything like the number of injured and the scale of their injuries following Monday’s devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria.

“This is a huge calamity. I lived through shelling and survived massacres. This is totally different, terrifying and horrific,” said the 34 year old surgeon from Aleppo, who has worked round the clock since the earthquakes in a hospital in Bab al Hawa by Syria’s border to Turkey.

Britain said on Wednesday it would provide more support, including items such as tents and blankets, to help survivors in freezing conditions in Turkey and Syria following earthquakes there.

“Our priority is to ensure life saving assistance is given to those most in need, coordinated with the Turkish government, UN and international partners,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in the statement.

The government said the equipment would meet the needs of up to 15,000 people. The death toll from the disaster which struck on Monday crossed 11,000 on Wednesday.

President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday admitted to problems with his government’s initial response to a devastating earthquake in southern Turkey amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams. Erdogan, who contests an election in May, said on a visit to the disaster zone that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless, as the combined death toll across Turkey and neighbouring Syria climbed above 11,000.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday there were some problems in the initial response to the massive earthquakes that struck southern Turkey but operations are back to normal now, adding that the death toll in the country rose to 8,574. Speaking to reporters in the Kahramanmaras province near the epicentre of the earthquake, with constant ambulance sirens in the background, Erdogan said there had been problems with roads and airports but that everything would get better by the day.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said there are around 3,000 Indians currently in Turkey and one businessman has been untraceable for the last two days. “Around 3000 Indians in Turkey, 850 around Istanbul 250 in Ankara, rest across the country. 75 persons asked the Embassy for Information. 10 Indian individuals stuck in remote parts, but are safe. 1 Indian businessman has been missing for the last two days,” the ministry said in a statement.

Searchers were still pulling survivors Wednesday from the rubble of the earthquake that killed over 11,200 people in Turkey and Syria, even as the window for rescues narrowed. For two days and nights since the 7.8 magnitude quake, thousands of searchers have worked in freezing temperatures to find those still alive under flattened buildings on either side of the border. Turkish Red Crescent chief Kerem Kinik had warned that the first 72 hours were critical in search and rescue efforts but pointed to complications of “severe weather conditions”.

The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria rose above 11,200 on Wednesday as rescuers raced to save survivors trapped under debris in the winter cold. Officials and medics said 8,574 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to 11,236. Nearly 50,000 people were also injured in Turkey and another 5,000 in Syria, officials and rescuers on both sides said.

Syria has activated the EU civil protection mechanism two days after a massive earthquake in Syria and Turkey that killed more than 9,600 people, the European Commission’s head of crisis management Janez Lenarcic said. “Earlier today, this morning, we have received a request from the government of Syria for assistance through the civil protection mechanism,” European Commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarcic told reporters. Lenarcic said member states are encouraged to contribute with assistance as requested.

More than 9,500 people have been killed and thousands more injured, authorities and medical sources reported, as efforts continue to save those still trapped under rubble. Syrian state media and rescuers said Wednesday that 2,547 people had died in the earthquake, while Turkey reported its latest toll at 6,957, bringing the confirmed tally in both Turkey and Syria to 9,504. READ MORE

Quake that struck Turkey and Syria is deadliest in world in more than 10 years, as the confirmed death toll surpasses 9,000.

Heartrending scenes of a newborn plucked alive from the rubble and a broken father clutching his dead daughter’s hand have laid bare the human cost of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey that by Wednesday had claimed over 9,500 lives. For two days and nights since the 7.8 magnitude quake an impromptu army of rescuers have worked in freezing temperatures to find those still entombed among ruins in several cities either side of the border. Officially, the death toll from the disaster now stands at 6,957 people dead in Turkey and 2,547 in Syria, bringing the total to 9,504 — But that could yet double if the worst fears of experts are realised.

Two days after the earthquake killed 9,500 people, anger has mounted in Turkey over what is being described as a slow and inadequate response by authorities and chances of finding survivors narrowed. Rescuers worked throughout the night searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings under harsh weather, destroyed roads and poor infrastructure in both Turkey and Syria, The Guardian reported. The death toll from the massive quake rose to more than 9,500 on Wednesday as rescuers struggle to reach trapped survivors for a third day. READ MORE

China will offer emergency humanitarian aid of 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to earthquake-hit Syria, its foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular news briefing on Wednesday. The death toll of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria has jumped to more than 8,700. Mao said $2 million of the emergency aid would be used for cash and urgently needed relief supplies, adding that China would speed up existing food aid projects.

A report by Associated Press said that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to travel to town of Pazarcık and wort-hit Hatay

Gaziantep, like Hatay, has seen some unrest. People have expressed their anger over the delay in response. News agency AFP in a report citing Gaziantep citizens said that they were forced to carry out rescue operations by themselves as no teams arrived for the first 12 hours. On Tuesday morning, citizens expressed their anger over the delayed response

The Turkish stock market has halted trading for the first time in 24 years after a massive selloff was triggered in the aftermath of the earthquakes, Bloomberg reported.

Turkey says that the death toll has risen to 6,957. In Syria, the death toll has risen to 2,470 which brings the total death toll to 9,427

A girl was rescued from beneath the rubble in Syria’s Idlib after being trapped under the rubble for 40 hrs

In Turkey’s Kahramanmaras, a survivor was stuck beneath the rubble for more than 52 hours but was finally rescued alive by aid teams