Death toll from Turkey, Syria earthquake passes 11,000
The death toll from the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria has risen above 11,200 today as rescuers raced to save survivors trapped under debris in the winter cold.
Officials and medics said 8,574 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria bringing the total to 11,236.
Aid efforts in Syria have been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border, which is surrounded by Russia-backed government forces. Syria itself is an international pariah and under Western sanctions linked to the war.
The UN said it was “exploring all avenues” to get supplies to the rebel-held northwest of the country, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that Egypt had sent a medical and rescue team.
Syrian officials said the bodies of more than 100 Syrians killed in Turkey during the earthquake were returned home for burial via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. Mazen Alloush, a Syrian border official, said 20 more bodies were on their way to the border, and that they were all Syrian refugees fleeing war in their country.
