Turkey-Syria earthquake- latest: Desperation grips Syria as food supplies start to run out
Death toll passes 21,000 as hundreds still trapped under mountains of rubble
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Reeling from the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Syrians are now facing starvation as food stocks are beginning to run out in the northwest of the country.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday it was running out of stocks and called to open more border crossings from Turkey after both countries were ravaged by the natural disaster.
“Northwest Syria, where 90 per cent of the population depends on humanitarian assistance, is a big concern. We have reached the people there, but we need to replenish our stocks,” Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe, told reporters.
“We are running out of stocks and we need access to bring new stocks in. The border crossing is open now, but we need to get new border crossings open.”
The Independent is asking readers to donate to its appeal, with all funds raised going to the Disasters Emergency Committee, which brings together leading UK aid charities to help with the search and rescue effort and provide vital medicines, clean water and temporary accommodation for survivors.
Dog dug out of rubble after two days
A small dog who was trapped under the rubble in Turkey’s Iskenderun following the devastating earthquake has been rescued.
The dog, named Pamuk, was dug out of the rubble after two days.
Pamuk was being looked after by its human’s neighbour, an eyewitness told CGTN. The owner was in a hospital in the city of Mersin approximately 200km west of Iskenderun.
UN appeals for more aid
The United Nations has appealed for more aid for Turkey and Syria as the death toll from two devastating earthquakes crossed 21,000.
“Aid, life-saving aid, is desperately needed by civilians wherever they are irrespective of borders and boundaries,” said UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.
“We need it urgently, through the fastest, most direct, and most effective routes. They need more of absolutely everything.”
Dam collapses in Syria flooding entire village
A dam in Syria’s Idlib province has collapsed in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, flooding the entire village and forcing people to flee their homes.
The flood waters from the Asi River destroyed more than 20 houses in the rebel-held al-Tlul village and inundated dozens of others.
“The mud dam collapsed because of the earthquake,” Louan Hamadeh, one of the few villagers who remained despite the flooding, told AFP.
Over 18,000 bodies recovered in Turkey so far
The death toll in Turkey from this week’s two devastating earthquakes has risen to 18,342, with the number of people injured rising to 74,242, the country’s disaster and emergency management authority said on Friday.
It said that 75,780 survivors have been evacuated from the quake zone in southern Turkey and that more than 121,000 personnel were involved in the rescue and relief efforts.
Ex-Chechen commander accused of alleged war crimes is heading Russia’s aid effort
A former Chechen commander who is wanted by Ukraine for alleged war crimes is reportedly leading Russia’s earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.
Daniil Martynov is thought to be close to the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and was in multiple locations in Ukraine during the early days of Moscow’s war.
This week, he has spoken to several Russian media outlets from the earthquake-torn country after being appointed as an adviser in Russia’s emergency situations ministry last year, CNN reported.
Death toll crosses 21,000
The toll in Turkey and Syria from this week’s two devastating earthquakes has crossed 21,000 as rescuers continue recovery efforts.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency management authority on Friday said 18,342 bodies have been recovered so far, with the number of injured rising to 74,242.
Across the border in Syria, the death toll is at 3,377 deaths.
Earthquake ‘another layer of crisis’ for Syrian people, says Unicef
The earthquake that hit Syria on 6 February is “another layer of crisis” for the country, Unicef has said.
At least 20,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria after the 7.8 magnitude tremor hit the countries.
Syria has faced more than a decade of conflict, a worsening economic crisis, and a cholera outbreak declared in September 2022.
Unicef’s Eva Hinds told The Independent that experiencing the earthquake was likely to bring back memories of a time when fighting was “very, very active.”
Watch here.
Exclusive: Earthquake is ‘another layer of crisis’ for Syrian people, says Unicef
An earthquake that hit Syria on 6 February, is “another layer of crisis” for the country, Unicef has said. At least 20,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria after the 7.8 magnitude tremor hit the countries. Syria has faced more than a decade of conflict, a worsening economic crisis, and a cholera outbreak declared in September 2022. Unicef’s Eva Hinds told The Independent that experiencing the earthquake was likely to bring back memories of a time when fighting was “very, very active.” The humanitarian aid organisation is working to assess damage, improve sanitation, and reunite separated children with their families. Sign up for our newsletters.
‘Don’t forget about Syria,’ aid worker in Istanbul urges
A British-Pakistani aid worker raising money for those impacted by the earthquake said she can feel the entire city of Istanbul “in mourning”, as she urged the West: “Don’t forget about Syria.”
Rubbia A, 27, who did not want to provide her last name, is a mental health researcher for King’s College London and has been working remotely while travelling abroad, stopping to visit her friend Safae Kherbouche, a 23-year-old Moroccan student in Istanbul.
As the earthquake hit, the pair vowed to provide humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria and have raised more than £11,000 on JustGiving to supply victims with blankets, food, baby clothes, heaters, sanitary products and chargers.
“There’s a lot of kids without families now,” Rubbia, from south London, told the PA news agency.
“For me, Istanbul is like London - it’s a very diverse, bubbly city (but) now you can feel everyone’s in mourning.”
Ms Kherbouche added: “I lived in Gaziantep for two months in 2018... I know so many friends, so many people who have died.
“Earlier I was in the street, there was a family, a lady, her husband died... And she was left with six kids and all they had in their hands was a blanket.
“And I asked her: ‘What’s wrong?’, and she said their house has been burned in the earthquake.”
Rubbia and Ms Kherbouche were in the east of Turkey only last week, and had planned to fly from Gaziantep back to Istanbul on Monday February 6.
When their flight was cancelled due to heavy snow, they were forced to travel sooner and arrived in Istanbul just as the earthquake began.
They are raising money through three mediums, including JustGiving, Rubbia’s self-founded charity named Beyond Borders, and Ms Kherbouche’s own network of friends and connections within Turkey.
“We woke up on Monday morning and found out there was an earthquake in the region that we were meant to fly from on that morning,” Rubbia explained.
“So obviously (our) faith is very strong.”
The duo are dedicated to getting crucial aid to those in most need and have already used £1,000 in donations to buy 63 heaters.
Donate to our Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal
The Independent is appealing for help in raising urgently needed funds following the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey and Syria in almost a century.
More than 20,000 people have now died and hundreds of thousands more have been left injured and homeless after large swathes of the country were devastated.
A lack of equipment and expertise to reach those who are still trapped has hampered rescue efforts in Turkey, while the situation in Syria has been made complicated by the conflict that has wrecked its infrastructure.
Donate to our Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal
We are asking readers to give generously to support the urgent relief effort as death toll passes 20,000
Toddler pulled from ruins after 78 hours trapped by Turkey earthquake
A two-year-old boy has been pulled from the wreckage of a destroyed building in Turkey, 78 hours after the earthquake that devastated large swathes of the country.
The toddler was pulled from the wreckage of a four-floor apartment building in the Odabası district in the city of Antakya. A Romanian and Polish rescue team worked a small gap between some collapsed concrete and lifted the boy to safety as he wept.
The child, identified as Mehmet Tatar, was handed to health workers and put into an ambulance to be taken away for a medical check. The boy’s unlikely escape prompted tears of joy from the rescue team.
Toddler pulled from ruins after 78 hours trapped by Turkey earthquake
Earlier, in the same city, a father and daughter were pulled from the wreckage of another collapsed building
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