Watch as Erdogan visits Turkey’s earthquake sites after death toll passes 20,000

Watch as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, visits earthquake sites after the death toll passes 20,000.

He made the trip as anger grows across the nation over the government’s perceived failure to prepare for the disaster.

Earlier this week, Turkey’s main opposition leader blamed Mr Erdogan for the scale of the devastation.

“If there is one person responsible for this, it is Erdogan,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu said.

The president, however, has rejected those claims, calling for “unity” and “solidarity” in the wake of the earthquake.

As he toured disaster zones on Thursday, Mr Erdogan acknowledged some initial problems, but said the situation was now “under control”.

The death toll has soared past 20,000 after quickly rising since the two earthquakes struck the country on Tuesday, 7 February, with rescue efforts hampered by freezing conditions, increasing the pressure to reach any survivors as soon as possible.

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