A week after the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria, the toll of the catastrophe has risen to 34,000 dead. Under the rubble, people are still found alive, but fewer and fewer. The search operations will stop and when the removal of the fallen buildings begins we will know, for real, how many people died.
The World Health Organization has given up making any further estimates, but warns that the number of victims will be huge. At the same time, the two countries are facing a huge humanitarian crisis. Up to a million people depend on aid to survive. More than 5 million would have been left without homes, in Syria alone. Qatar has announced that it will send 10,000 containers to the earthquake-ravaged area, used to house fans, during the World Cup.
Meanwhile miracles still happen, as rescue teams are still finding people under the rubble, more than a week after the earthquake. A 40-year-old woman from Gaziantep, Sibel Kaya, was rescued from the rubble 170 hours after the first devastating earthquake on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.
Rescuers managed to reach the ground floor of a collapsed five-story building last night and rescued Siibel Kaya. The woman was transported to the hospital.
According to Anadolu Agency, the intervention teams rescued at least 41 people in the interval of 141 hours to 163 hours after the earthquake at the beginning of last week.
In Antakya, a Syrian, Adnan Ahmad Amir, and his 4-year-old daughter Emira were pulled out from under the rubble. The man’s first desire was to drink strong Turkish tea. “The tea is ready, it’s ready,” responded the rescuers.
In the Besni town of Adiyaman, a 13-year-old girl, Hanim Gullu, was rescued after 145 hours under the rubble. Frightened, she begged the rescuers not to inject her: “Please, don’t inject me.” “Our dear Hanim, it’s not an injection, look, it’s a tissue“, the rescuers assured the girl.
Among those rescued on Sunday in Turkey is a 35-year-old man from Antakya, Mustafa Sarigul. He was pulled out from under the rubble by Romanian rescuers.
Qatar to send 10,000 modular containers used during the World Cup
Qatar will send 10,000 modular containers used during the World Cup to Turkey and Syria to house people who lost their homes in the earthquake that hit the two countries on Monday. “Taking into account the urgent needs in Turkey and Syria, we have taken the decision to send our construction site bungalows and caravans to the region, thus providing immediate and much-needed support to the population of Turkey and Syria,” said representatives of Qatar. A first shipment will leave for Turkey on Monday. Other deliveries are expected in the coming days. The modular containers were used for several weeks in November and December to house especially fans during the soccer World Cup held in Qatar.