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Miracle rescues as Turkey-Syria death toll nears 26,000
Rescue workers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria, leaving nearly 26,000 dead. But security concerns have led to some aid operations being suspended, and 48 people have been arrested. for the looting or attempts to defraud victims in the wake of the earthquake in Turkey, state media reported. Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still scouring flattened neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions who now urgently need help. in the midst of destruction and despair, miraculous stories of survival continue to emerge.”Is the world there?” asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled from the concrete in the southern city of Kahramanmaras – the epicenter of Monday’s 7.8 quake – to applause and shouts of praise to God, according to a video on state broadcaster TRT Haber .In the city of Antakya, a two-month-old baby was found alive 128 hours after the earthquake, state news agency Anadolu reported. A two-year-old girl, a six-month-pregnant woman and a four-year-old and her father were among those rescued five days after the earthquake, Turkish media reported.In southern Turkey, families clutched each other in grief at a cotton field turned into a cemetery, with an endless stream of bodies arriving for quick burial.- 26 million people affected – The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria needed. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless. Nearly 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday as it launched an emergency appeal for $42.8 million to deal with immediate, major health needs. It warned that dozens of hospitals had been damaged. Turkey’s disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organizations were working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers. In Turkey’s gourmet capital Gaziantep city, restaurants are working hard among tens of thousands of volunteers to help and feed families.”We want to help,” says Burhan Cagdas, owner of a local eatery. in a bad situation. Their families are victims and their homes have been destroyed,” Cagdas said. His own family has been sleeping in cars since Monday in the city where at least 2,000 have died and tens of thousands have been forced out. of unsafe homes. Their Imam Cagdas restaurant is famous for Alinazik eggplant and meat stew and they have served up to 4,000 free meals a day outside since the tragedy occurred. But some clashes were also reported and the UN rights office on Friday urged all actors in the affected area – where Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels operate – to allow humanitarian access. a difficult security situation amid shooting between local groups. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, announced a temporary ceasefire in fighting to facilitate repairs. And a border crossing between Armenia and Turkey was opened for the first time in 35 years on Saturday to allow five trucks carrying food and water into the earthquake-stricken region.- Medical aid for Aleppo – In Syria, where years of conflict have devastated the health care system and parts of the country remain under rebel control, help has been slow to come. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took a flight full of emergency medical equipment to the earthquake-ravaged city of Aleppo on Saturday. Tedros tweeted through damaged areas of the city: “I am saddened to see the conditions survivors are facing — freezing weather and extremely limited access to shelter, food, water, heat and medical care.” Damascus said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit areas outside its control in Idlib province and a convoy was expected to leave on Sunday – but the delivery was later delayed without explanation.In the Syrian capital, the transport ministry said 57 aid planes landed in the country this week. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to authorize the opening of new cross-border aid points between Turkey and Syria. The council will meet to discuss Syria, possibly early next week. Turkey said it was working to open two new routes to rebel-held parts of Syria.- Anger builds -In Turkey, five days of grief and anguish slowly built into anger. at the poor quality of buildings as well as the government’s response to the country’s worst disaster in nearly a century. Officials in the country say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged in the earthquake. On Saturday, Turkish police reportedly detained 12 people, including contractors, over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa. Officials and medics said 22,327 people died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 25,901.burs-bp/lcm
