In Turkey, the death toll now stands at over 22,300, in Syria 3,500. The probability of finding survivors is getting lower and lower and on Saturday, the UN announced that they will soon end the rescue operation.
– We are approaching the end of the time when it is possible to search for and rescue survivors. The probability of finding survivors among the race masses in these low temperatures has become lower, says UN coordination officer Belit Tasdemir.
The aid organization White Helmets, which operates in rebel-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, also announced on Saturday that they are no longer looking for survivors.
“There is hope”
Despite the cold making the situation more difficult for any survivors, people are still found alive. On Saturday, SVT’s Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid witnessed how a family of three was dug up alive in the town of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey.
– It was wonderful and gives a lot of hope to all the people here in Turkey and Syria, says Samir Abu Eid.
He says that the intensive rescue work on site will continue.
– As long as there is hope, they will continue to search, they usually say that for about 10 days there are opportunities to find survivors under the race masses,
The border opens
In order to get aid through more easily, the border between Turkey and Armenia was opened on Saturday. The last time the border crossing between the two countries was used was to send aid from the Turkish Red Crescent to earthquake-stricken Armenia in 1988.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the hard-hit city of Diyarbakir. During a press conference, he promised that within a few weeks the country will take “concrete steps” to rebuild the cities destroyed by the earthquake. He also said that those who loot or commit other types of crimes in the earthquake affected areas will be punished.