Death toll continues to rise – Tens of thousands more injured after deadly earthquakes rock southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria.
Rescuers continue to search the rubble of collapsed buildings in Syria and Turkey, but the so-called “critical 72-hour window” since the earthquake has now passed, and the chances of finding people alive are diminishing rapidly, experts say.
Over 16,000 people have been killed, and tens of thousands more injured, after deadly earthquakes hit southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria.
“The first 72 hours are considered critical,” Stephen Godby, a natural hazards expert at Nottingham Trent University, told Sky News. “The average survival rate within 24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and on the fifth day it is 6%.”
In previous earthquakes, people have been pulled out alive after up to 15 days under the rubble, but sub-zero temperatures in the quake-hit areas since last Monday mean those who survived the initial deadly quake but remain trapped are at risk to die of hypothermia, the doctors said.
“The first 72 hours are critical for locating survivors, more than 90% of those rescued have been rescued within this time,” said Ilan Kelman, a natural disaster researcher at University College London (UCL).
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