The death toll from devastating earthquakes that jolted Turkey and Syria increased to over 45,000 on Saturday. A 45-year-old man was rescued from the rubble 278 hours after the earthquakes.
Al Jazeera reported that the total number of people killed in Turkey increased to 39,672. The Syrian government and the UN say over 5,800 people have died in the country.
According to reports, Turkish rescuers pulled out alive from rubble three people, including a child 13 days after the earthquakes at Antakya. Reuters reported that the toll is expected to soar with some 2,64,000 apartments in Turkey destroyed.
Hakan Yasinoglu, in his 40s, was rescued in the southern province of Hatay, 278 hours after the quake, Reuters reported.
The United Nations said since February 9, a total of 178 trucks carrying aid from Turkey into northwest Syria have crossed the border. Al Jazeera quoting UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq reported that based on recent assessments in Syria’s northwest, 50,000 households need tents or emergency shelter and at least 88,000 households need mattresses, thermal blankets and clothing. “In addition, the UN’s partners say hospitals and medical centres are overstretched and under-resourced,” he was quoted saying.
