Turkey’s Gaziantep city — More survivors were dragged from the rubble of fallen buildings on Thursday, but expectations were fading for the discovery of many more survivors three days after a horrific earthquake and series of aftershocks struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 15,000 people.
IHA stated that emergency teams working through the night in the city of Antakya were able to rescue a small child from the wreckage of a building and her father two hours later.
The DHA news agency said that in the early morning hours in Diyarbakir, east of Antakya, rescuers extricated one injured woman from the rubble of a fallen building but found three bodies close to her.
However, according to experts, the window of opportunity for survival for those trapped under the wreckage or otherwise unable to get basic supplies was swiftly closing. In addition, they stated that it was premature to relinquish hope.
“The first 72 hours are considered to be critical,” said Steven Godby, an expert on natural disasters at Nottingham Trent University in England. “The survival ratio on average within 24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and by the fifth day it is 6%.”
Three individuals are rescued from the debris of a fallen building in Gaziantep, Turkey on February 9, 2023, in the aftermath of a series of powerful earthquakes. Basir Gulum / Anadolu Agency courtesy of Getty Images
In addition to the 12,391 fatalities, Turkey’s emergency management service said that over 60,000 people had been injured. On the Syrian side of the border, it has been reported that more than 2,900 people have died.
It is estimated that tens of thousands have lost their homes. Former tenants of a collapsed building in Antakya wrapped themselves in blankets and crowded around an outdoor fire overnight and into Thursday in an attempt to remain warm.
Serap Arslan stated that several people, including her mother and brother, remained buried beneath the debris of the adjoining building. Wednesday was the first day that equipment began to move some of the heavy concrete, she said.
The 45-year-old stated, “We tried to clear it by our own means, but unfortunately we are very inadequately” prepared for the task.
Selen Ekimen wiped away tears with her gloved hands as she stated that her parents and brother were still interred.
She stated that there had been “no sound from them for days,” “None.”
Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the hard-hit province of Hatay, where people have criticized the government’s actions, claiming rescuers arrived too slowly.
According to the crisis management organization, more than 110,000 rescue people and over 5,500 vehicles, including tractors, cranes, bulldozers, and excavators, have been sent to the affected area.
As a result of the earthquake, thousands of buildings have collapsed, making the effort Herculean.
Erdogan, who faces a difficult reelection struggle in May, recognized flaws with the emergency response to Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, but attributed them to the winter cold. In addition to destroying the runway at Hatay’s airport, the earthquake severely hampered the response.
Erdogan stated, “It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster,” “We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for.” In response to critiques, he stated that “dishonorable people” were disseminating “lies and slander” about government actions.
Access to Twitter in Turkey has been limited, despite the fact that it was used by survivors to warn rescuers, according to the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks, which reported the restriction early Wednesday morning. However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday night that “Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be reenabled shortly.”
The calamity strikes at a difficult moment for Erdogan, who is facing an economic recession and high inflation. Perceptions that his government mishandled the situation could be detrimental to his standing. He stated that the government would provide impacted households with 10,000 Turkish lira ($532)
Teams from more than two dozen nations have joined the efforts of the local emergency officials. But the harm caused by the earthquake and its accompanying aftershocks was so extensive and widespread that many people were still waiting for assistance.
More than a decade of civil strife in Syria had already plagued the region. Millions of Syrians have been displaced, and millions more have sought asylum in Turkey.
Aid operations in Syria have been impeded by the ongoing civil conflict and the isolation of the rebel-held border region, which is encircled by government forces supported by Russia. Syria is a worldwide pariah due to war-related Western sanctions.
The death toll has now surpassed that of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015, when 8,800 people perished. Japan’s 2011 earthquake generated a tsunami that killed approximately 20,000 people.
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