The death toll continues to rise after an 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday. By Wednesday afternoon, the death toll had reached 11 000.
It has been reported that more than 8 000 people have been pulled out of collapsed buildings in Turkey alone, while about 380 000 people are being accommodated in places of safety including government shelters and hotels.
Other people, who are battling cold weather and snow, are said to have found refuge in shopping malls, mosques and community centres.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said overnight, 3 400 people found shelter in the trains that are being used as emergency accommodation centres, while the country’s disaster management agency indicated that it has received 11 342 reports of collapsed buildings, of which 5 775 have been confirmed.
Turkey has so far deployed more than 24 000 search and rescue personnel. Teams from South Africa’s Gift of the Givers are also assisting with search and rescue operations. “The number of personnel is expected to rise,” said Orhan Tatar, an official from the disaster management agency.
Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said three British nationals are still missing following the deadly earthquake. “We assess that the likelihood of large-scale British casualties remains low,” Cleverly said on Tuesday.
Four Australians are also unaccounted for. Australia’s Foreign Affairs Department is providing consular assistance to affected families, while 10 neighboring countries in the region have imposed a state of emergency, respectively.
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