Rescue teams worked around the clock early Tuesday morning to free people trapped under rubble in southern Turkey as the country’s death toll from a devastating earthquake a day earlier rose to more than 3,400. Along with more than 1,600 deaths in Syria, the total death toll in the two countries already stands at more than 5,000.

Cries of anguish from people still buried under the ruins filled the night from Monday to Tuesday, as well as their relatives, who could not hold back tears and fear for their own. Rescuers desperately asked for silence in order to listen for any signs of life under the rubble.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck Turkey and neighboring Syria early Monday morning, destroying entire apartment buildings, destroying hospitals and leaving thousands injured or homeless. This was followed by aftershocks of magnitude 7.7 and very strong aftershocks in excess of 6 on the Richter scale. In total, since 3.18 pm Greek time on Monday, more than 100 earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 4 on the Richter scale have been registered in the region.

According to the Turkish authorities, the area affected by natural disasters is huge and amounts to about 110,000 square kilometers, which is approximately the area of ​​the entire Greek mainland, including the Peloponnese.

About 8,000 people were rescued from more than 11,000 buildings destroyed by the earthquake, according to Turkey’s Emergency and Disaster Management Authority (AFAD).

Speaking from Gaziantep on Tuesday morning, Turkey’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum spoke of the 13.5 million people affected by Monday’s earthquake.

With relief and new hope, a woman was pulled alive from the rubble in Kahramanmaras 27 hours after the first earthquake. An hour later, five people were pulled out alive, including an elderly man. The mother and her three children were found alive in Gaziantep.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said Tuesday morning that at least 3,419 people have died in Turkey as tremors continue to rock the region. The number of wounded exceeded 20,500.

F. Oktay made a special appeal to the international community to send cranes to Turkey, because the existing equipment is not enough to rescue stuck seismographs in a timely manner. He also highlighted the problems with hospitals in the area, which, due to damage, cannot receive a huge number of wounded. Field hospitals are set up and the wounded are sent to other areas.

A correspondent for Turkish state broadcaster TRT in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of a strong earthquake that hit early Monday morning, said 20-30% of the city’s buildings had collapsed. Mr. Kurum said that the regions of Kahramanmaras, Hatay and Gaziantep suffered huge damage.

Problems are multiplied by power and water outages and damaged roads that prevent rescue teams and supplies from reaching Turkey’s most remote areas, which are also mountainous. The Minister of the Environment called on citizens not to use the main roads in the south and east of Turkey to make it easier for rescuers to move around.

According to Turkish state television, prefabricated houses in major cities such as Antioch in Hatay are at great risk with every aftershock that hits the region. There are people who are on the balconies of dilapidated apartment buildings for more than 24 hours and desperately scream and beckon rescuers, who still cannot approach them due to the lack of proper equipment.

Kurum added that at least on Tuesday, the second day of the seven days of national mourning declared by President Tayyip Erdogan, weather conditions allow the use of drones to better control the situation.

At the same time, at least 1,602 people have died and more than 3,500 have been injured in Syria, according to the Damascus government and rescue teams in the rebel-held northwestern region.

Sources in the opposition forces that control areas in northern Syria also say that hundreds of people are under the rubble. There are fears that there will be many more casualties in opposition-held areas in northern Syria, as it is much more difficult to get help there due to the civil-military situation.

To be sure, poor internet connectivity and damaged roads between some of the hardest-hit cities and southern Turkey, home to millions of people, hamper assessment and remediation efforts. Therefore, it is possible that the number of victims in both countries is much higher.

Two more earthquakes measuring 5.6 and 5.7 on the Richter scale struck central Turkey on Tuesday morning, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said.

At the same time, the fire that broke out in the port of Alexandretta (Iskenderun) continues to rage, containers and equipment are burning. The fire started from the first earthquake early Monday morning.

Influx of international aid

Hundreds of foreign rescuers are arriving in Turkey and Syria with special equipment and materials to reinforce the hard work of rescue teams.

As of Monday afternoon, he arrived in Turkey. first Greek expedition help with over 20 elite EMAK employees who rushed to fight against time and aftershocks to keep hope alive. The Greek 1st EMAK, with the help of two dogs and valuable equipment, operates near the Turkish-Syrian border.

OUR American President Joe Biden promised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “all necessary assistance,” “whatever it may be,” in the wake of the deadly devastating earthquake.

He expressed “condolences on behalf of the American people” and emphasized that teams from the United States “as a matter of urgency” are sent to “support search and rescue operations” and “coordinate any other assistance” needed by earthquake victims, the press reported. issue published from his White House service.

Her government China is giving 40 million yuan (about 5.5 million euros) to Turkey to help earthquake victims, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, specifying that this is the first tranche of aid planned to be disbursed. For its part, the Chinese Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent will provide emergency assistance of around 186,000 euros to both Turkey and Syria, according to the same source.

OUR South Korean President Yun Seokgyol issued an order to send rescue teams and medical supplies to Turkey, his agencies said on Tuesday. Mr. Yoon “ordered the relevant state authorities” to develop plans for “further measures to support Turkey if necessary,” according to a press release from the South Korean president.

Jihadists escape from Syrian prison

As if all that wasn’t enough, about 20 alleged members of the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group escaped from a Syrian prison during the uprising sparked by the earthquake, according to a source close to the detention center.

About 2,000 people are being held in the Razo military prison, near northeast Syria’s border with Turkey, 1,300 of whom are suspected of having fought in the ranks of ISIS, the source said. Kurdish fighters are also at the facility.

“After the earthquake that hit Razo, the inmates rioted and took over parts of the prison,” a source told AFP.

“About 20 prisoners escaped (…). We believe they are members of ISIS,” the same source added on condition of anonymity.

Razo prison, in an area held by anti-regime rebels, is controlled by pro-Turkish forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British NGO with a wide network of sources in the war-torn country, confirmed that a prison riot had broken out but said it could not say if any prisoners had escaped.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter less than 100km from Razo, damaged the gates and walls of the prison, a source told AFP.

The Syrian ambassador to the UN, relaying Damascus’ request for help following the devastating earthquake that hit the country, assured on Monday that it would be distributed to “all Syrians” who need it, “throughout the territory,” though some of it is outside his government’s control.

Bassam Sabah met in New York with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to convey to him a request for help from the Syrian government, which promised to “facilitate all necessary (procedures) for international organizations to distribute humanitarian aid” after the earthquake that caused terrible destruction in Syria like in Turkey.

“We assure the UN that we are ready to help and coordinate the delivery of aid to all Syrians throughout Syrian territory,” the ambassador told the press, when asked about the population in areas controlled by rebels and jihadists.

Source: Reuters, APE-MPE, TRT, Anadolu, CNN.