Turkey's disaster agency said on Sunday they have concluded rescue operations, two weeks after the devastating earthquakes that jolted Turkey and Syria. Accordng to authorities, the death toll crossed over 46,000, and 5,800 persons died in Syria.
Reuters reported that more than 46,000 people have been killed in the quake. The toll is expected to soar, with some 345,000 apartments in Turkey now known to have been destroyed, and many still missing, the publication reported.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken is expected to visit Turkey on Sunday and discuss aid measures with the country.
Al Jazeera quoted Yunis Sezar, head of Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency saying, “The death toll due to the earthquakes rose to 40,642, and the work of searching and rescue for people stuck under the debris has ended in most of the provinces.”
Sezar added, “We are in front of perhaps the biggest disaster we have faced in history. The damage from the earthquakes and the aftershocks – that were more than 5,700 – were not only restricted to the affected 11 provinces.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) on Saturday demanded northwestern Syria authorities to stop blocking access to the area as it seeks to help hundreds of thousands of people ravaged by earthquakes. World Health Organization said 26 million people in Turkey and Syria need aid.
