The number of victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which on Sunday morning exceeded 28 thousand, risks increasing at least twice, warned the UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency coordinator Martin Griffiths, reported AFP on Sunday.

Martin Griffiths arrived on Saturday in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on February 6 and killed 28,191 people – 24,617 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria.

“I think it’s difficult to estimate (the death toll) precisely because we have to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it will double or even more,” a senior UN official told Sky News. we are counting the dead, – warned Griffiths.

Tens of thousands of rescuers continue to search under the rubble in the freezing cold, adding to the suffering of millions of victims.

The UN has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot food in Turkey and Syria. Currently, up to 5.3 million people are homeless in Syria alone.

Nearly 26 million people were affected by the earthquake, the WHO said on Saturday, appealing for $42.8 million to fund urgent health needs.

Turkey’s disaster management agency said more than 32,000 members of Turkish organizations are involved in rescue operations. They were joined by 8,294 rescuers from abroad.

“Soon people in charge of search and rescue will give way to humanitarian agencies, whose task over the next few months is to deal with an extremely large number of people affected,” Griffiths said in a video posted on Twitter on Saturday. (Agerpress)