Amid rising public anger, authorities in Turkey are investigating 163 people in connection with building collapses. With the death toll crossing 37,000, hopes for several fade. Many survivours were rescued from under the collapsed buildings since the rescue operations began.
United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said that the rescue phase was "coming to a close", with the focus switching to shelter, food and schooling, reported Reuters.
The temperatures in the area have also dipped to minus 6 degrees Celsius causing hardships for the rescue operations.
Around eight people were arrested and 48 are in police custody, according to Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu.
Turkey's justice minister Bekir Bozdag said that the public prosecutor's office in all earthquake-affected areas were conducting the judicial investigations.
"Audits are subject to the evaluation of this information, and our public prosecutors carry out investigations to determine who is involved in these constructions," Bozdag was quoted by CNN.
Several contractors were reportedly arrested on Sunday at Istanbul airport while attempting to leave the country.
Meanwhile, Syria's president agreed to new crossing points from Turkiye to the country's rebel-held northwest to deliver aid to quake-victims.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision by Syrian leader Bashar Assad to open crossing points at Bab Al-Salam and Al Rae for an initial period of three months. Currently, the UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa, reported Reuters.
While the head of the Syrian opposition-run main rescue group on Tuesday criticised the U.N.'s decision that gave the authority to Syrian President Bashar al Assad in sanctioning their aid deliveries though border crossings with Turkey.
