Earthquake death toll in Turkey, Syria passes 25,000

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey – Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster of the earthquakes in Turkey may continue due to less immediate dangers.

The aftershocks of the earthquake could also manifest in a lack of water and sanitation, as well as frigid temperatures.

IsraAID’s initial exploratory team assessed that clean water would be one of the major problems for area residents following the tremors. “There will be a massive need for clean water,” said IsraAID press officer Shachar May.

IDF air force intelligence Unit 9900 is using its cutting-edge satellite capabilities and analytical visual training to assist with ongoing rescue efforts in Turkey, the military announced on Thursday night. 

According to the IDF, this assistance is helping IDF search and rescue units better target where they should focus their efforts most.

Lieutenant "A" of Unit 9900 said, "I am proud to take part in Israeli efforts to save lives in Turkey. We are using our mapping capabilities which are usually used for special forces operations in order to save lives wherever needed."

 The devastating scale of Monday's earthquake in southern Turkey presents "serious difficulties" for planned elections in mid-May, a Turkish official said on Thursday, in the first sign that authorities could consider postponing the vote.

President Tayyip Erdogan, seeking to extend his rule into a third decade, said last month the elections would be held on May 14. Opinion polls published before the earthquake suggested they would be his toughest electoral challenge yet.

Ukrainian rescue experts, more used to emergencies in a war zone at home, have brought their skills to the devastation caused from a massive earthquake in Turkey to search flattened buildings for survivors, erect tents and offer first aid.

"There is a war in our country, but we understand that we have to help, and this aid is mutual. There is no other way to do it," said Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, a spokesman for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Kyiv has sent 88 people to Turkey to help with a disaster that had killed 19,000 people across southern Turkey and northwest Syria. The team includes specialists in search and rescue operations, doctors, dog handlers and firefighters.

"This work goes on constantly, we have prepared people who take part in such operations," said Khorunzhyi.

Germany will increase the amount of humanitarian assistance it provides in Syria by 26 million euros ($28 million) to respond to the growing needs of Syrians after a deadly quake that left more than 3,200 dead across the country.

A statement from the German embassy in Beirut said the funds were needed "especially in the affected areas in the northwestern parts of the country," home to many Syrians displaced during a 12-year civil war.

"Germany can build on close ties with international organizations and NGOs in northwestern Syria, as it has already been providing extensive humanitarian assistance there," the statement said.

Britain said on Thursday it was committing additional funding - at least 3 million pounds ($3.65 million) - to support search and rescue operations and emergency relief in Syria following earthquakes in the region.

"Given the magnitude of the earthquakes and difficulties in accessing affected areas in North West Syria, the UK will be providing The White Helmets with additional funding to aid their major search-and-rescue operations," Britain said in a statement.

A two-year old boy was rescued on Thursday from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the southern city of Antakya, 79 hours after a massive earthquake struck the area this week, killing more than 19,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

Footage from Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) showed rescue workers looking into a narrow opening in the debris of a building in Antakya and pulling out the boy as he wept.

A worker from Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) carried the boy away and handed him over to health workers, as bystanders filmed the rescue on their phones.

Hundreds of thousands were left homeless by the earthquakes centered in southern Turkey, having to endure cold weather and a lack of resources, with hopes fading of many more people being found alive in the ruins.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit Gaziantep in Turkey and Aleppo and Damascus in Syria this weekend to assess needs and see how the United Nations can best step up support, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.

Guterres also pushed for more aid access to opposition-controlled northwest Syria.

"Roads are damaged. People are dying. Now is the time to explore all possible avenues to get aid and personnel into all affected areas. We must put people first," Guterres told reporters in New York.

Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on Thursday, while hopes faded of many more people being found alive amid the ruins of cities.

The death toll from the quakes, which struck early on Monday morning, passed 19,000 on Thursday across both countries.

That surpasses the more than 17,000 people killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit Turkey's more densely populated northwest.

Seven Italians are missing following this week's deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at a news conference on Thursday.