Syria earthquake: Child pulled from rubble of collapsed building
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Victims of the massive earthquakes which wrought utter devastation in Turkey and Syria have expressed anger over the government response – as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the tremor’s epicentre.
More than 11,000 people have so far been reported dead in the two countries, with three times that number injured, according to authorities – making it the world’s deadliest seismic event since the 2011 tsunami which killed nearly 20,000 people.
The search for survivors has been impeded by sub-zero temperatures and close to 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.
Rescuers have warned that “time is running out” in the search for survivors, with UK-based Muslim charity SKT Welfare warning that “people are losing that window where they might still survive if they are stuck under the rubble”.
Rescuers “on the ground right now are unfortunately pulling dead bodies from the rubble”, she said, warning that hospitals in northern Syria are “running out of fuel and electricity, they need diesel to run the generators, they need painkillers, antibiotics, all the medication”.
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We are pausing live coverage for now. The blog will be back tomorrow with the latest updates on the earthquakes that have caused devastation in Turkey and Syria.
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 22:00
1675892740Turkish and Syrian families in UK fear for loved ones caught in deadly earthquake
Turkish and Syrian families in the UK fear for their loved ones after the deadly earthquakes that devastated both countries on Monday.
The initial 7.8 magnitude tremor is the worst to hit Turkey since 1999 with a death toll of more than 11,000 so far.
Rim Turkmani has relatives and friends in Aleppo, Syria, but doesn’t yet know if all have survived the natural disaster. Those that have are forced to lie down on cold streets as there is nowhere to seek shelter and going indoors is not safe, she told the Independent.
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 21:45
1675889140PMQs: Rishi Sunak announces UK rescue support following Turkey-Syria earthquake
PMQs: Rishi Sunak announces UK rescue support following Turkey-Syria earthquake
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 20:45
1675885540Trapped in quake ruins, girl protects her brother for 36 hours as they wait to be saved
Two children lodged under the concrete remains of their home in earthquake-struck Syria have been rescued after enduring a freezing 36-hour wait.
Mariam, the elder sibling, is seen gently stroking her younger brother’s head as they lie wedged between what appears to be the remains of their bed and a collapsed concrete wall after Monday’s devastating tremor.
She is able to move her arm just enough to cover her brother’s face, offering some protection from the great clouds of dust billowing from the cluster of fallen buildings.
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 19:45
1675882058In earthquake rescues, noisy gear and digging, then silence
They lifted slabs of cement with enormous cranes and smashed rubble with jackhammers. Then, they stopped.
Silence. Key to detecting the faintest noise that could be the sign of a survivor buried beneath rubble from Monday’s quake in Turkey and Syria.
Among the wreckage of a collapsed 14-story building in the Turkish city of Adana, the shriek of an whistle pierced the noise every few minutes on Wednesday. Rescue workers hollered for quiet, and listened for any hint of voices from the debris. Hundreds of people watching hushed.
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 18:47
1675877711Moment bystanders run for cover as building collapses after Turkey earthquake
Moment bystanders run for cover as building collapses after Turkey earthquake
Joe Middleton8 February 2023 17:35
1675872847Turkey ‘accepts offer of help from Cyprus’ – despite not recognising its government
Turkey has accepted an offer from Cyprus to send a team of rescuers to help in the wake of the earthquakes, the latter has said – despite Ankara refusing to recognise its legitimacy.
A spokesperson for Cyprus’s foreign ministry told the Associated Press that Cyprus’ offer was made through the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism and that a rescue team of about 20 members was being assembled.
They said it was unclear where in Turkey the team would be dispatched, adding that the urgency for humanitarian aid has superseded the complex politics between the two nations.
Turkey does not recognise Cyprus as a state and has stationed thousands of troops in the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when it invaded the island following a coup there aimed at union with Greece.
Andy Gregory8 February 2023 16:14
1675871467Girl protects little brother as they lay trapped in earthquake rubble for 36-hours
Two children lodged under the concrete remains of their home in earthquake-struck Syria have been rescued after enduring a freezing 36-hour wait, my colleague Emily Atkinson reports.
Mariam, the elder sibling, is seen gently stroking her younger brother’s head as they lie wedged between what appears to be the remains of their bed and a collapsed concrete wall after Monday’s devastating tremor.
She is able to move her arm just enough to cover her brother’s face, offering some protection from the great clouds of dust billowing from the cluster of fallen buildings.
Whispering to her rescuers from underneath the remains of their home in Besnaya-Bseineh, a small village in Haram, Syria, Mariam says:“Get me out of here, I’ll do anything for you.”
Andy Gregory8 February 2023 15:51
1675870196Erdogan faces mounting criticism over response to disaster
President Tayyip Erdogan is facing mounting criticism over his government’s response to the earthquake – ahead of a tight election in three months’ time.
From the outset, victims of the disaster have complained of a lack of equipment and support as they waited helplessly next to rubble of the many buildings decimated by the powerful tremors and roughly 200 aftershocks.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party, had earlier in the week said the disaster was a time for unity, not criticism. But on Wednesday he accused the government of failing to cooperate with local authorities and weakening non-governmental organisations that could help.
“I refuse to look at what is happening as above politics and align with the ruling party. This collapse is exactly the result of systematic profiteering politics,” he said. “If there is anyone responsible for this process, it is Erdogan. It is this ruling party that has not prepared the country for an earthquake for 20 years.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Kahranmaras on Wednesday
(EPA/MURAT CETINMUHURDAR/TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE)
Nasuh Mahruki, founder of a search and rescue group active in response to the 1999 earthquake that killed 17,000, said the army did not act soon enough because Mr Erdogan’s government scrapped a protocol enabling it to respond without instruction.
“In the first seconds [after the 1999 quake], the Turkish Armed Forces started to work and were on the scene with the people within hours,” he told Reuters, contrasting this with the current situation where the military had to wait for instructions.
“Now it seems the responsibility is with AFAD [Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority], but it is not prepared for such a colossal problem,” Mahruki added.
A government official, who requested anonymity, told the news agency that the efforts were hampered by damaged roads, bad weather and being unable to use airports due to damage, adding: “It seems that we should have been more prepared.”
Andy Gregory8 February 2023 15:29
1675869070Erdogan vows nobody will ‘be left in the streets’ as he tours ‘tent city’
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that nobody will “be left in the streets” as he toured a “tent city” in hard-hit Kahramanmaras where people forced from their homes were living.
Amid calls for his government to send more help to the disaster zone, Mr Erdogan conceded initial shortfalls in the response to the disaster but urged people to ignore those he claimed were “provocateurs”.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan tours the site of destroyed buildings during his visit to the city of Kahramanmaras in southeast Turkey
(Adem Altan/AFP via )
Andy Gregory8 February 2023 15:11
