The death toll in Turkey has reached 8,574, while in Syria 2,662 dead have been pulled from the rubble
The death toll from Monday’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 11,200, according to the latest official figures released today.
The number of dead in Turkey reached them 8,574as announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who went to Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquake, while in Syria have been withdrawn 2,662 dead from the rubble.
According to the Associated Press AFAD had received 11,342 reports of collapsed buildings, but only 5,775 of those reports have been confirmed.
About 55 helicopters had made 154 sorties to transport emergency aid and about 85 trucks were distributing food.
Survivors search for their relatives, checking one by one the bodies piled up in fields
Residents in earthquake-hit areas of Turkey walked past hundreds of bodies lying in stadiums and parking lots, carefully lifting blankets from their faces as they tried to identify their dead relatives after the powerful earthquake rocked the region.
Nada, a Syrian woman, and her Turkish husband asked a member of rescue teams what was the most appropriate way to find their niece and aunt among more than 100 bodies placed in the parking lot at Hatay Hospital near the city of Antakya (Antioch) of southern Turkey.
“Check one by one” they were told.
“My wife doesn’t speak Turkish and I can’t see very well,” said the husband, who did not give his name. “We have to check all the faces. We need help.”
Many of those killed in the earthquake — which struck in the early hours of Monday morning — had been placed in special sacks, or covered with blankets or tarpaulins, until relatives or friends identified them and moved them away. The bodies were placed in tents or on the pavement outside the 1,130-bed hospital built in 2016, which was badly damaged.
Some of the dead had tags with their personal information, others did not. Relatives who locate one of their own obtain a death certificate and burial permit from a prosecutor present at the scene and then transport the dead in their own vehicles.
A woman who could not find her sister cried out: “God, look at us, we will be grateful if we find the bodies of our own people.”
Erdem, 36, an emergency services worker who came from Izmir in western Turkey, said one problem was the lack of morgues and that coordinators were waiting for refrigerated trucks to place the dead.
To the north, in Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter of the earthquake, at least 100 bodies were placed in a field, where residents went for identification.
A woman fell to her knees, crying. Inside the arena and under rows of empty spectator seats lay the bodies of three small children covered in sheets on baby stretchers.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
