The death toll from Monday’s earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria has risen to nearly 8 000. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates it could reach 20 000. Meanwhile, rescue efforts are continuing in freezing temperatures.
The South African government says there are still no reports of its citizens being among the dead.
Thousands of rescue workers are combing through rubble in southern Türkiye and northern Syria trying to find survivors.
Turkish journalist Turkman Terzi, “This climate and this tragedy is biggest since 1939, that time we lost more than 30 000 people and injured over 100 000 people and the last earthquake was in 1999. I also experienced that, I was in Ankara. Some of my relatives are missing still. All my family members, they left their homes to take shelter in some farmhouse and some stayed in their cars. It is freezing cold. They say they never ever seen anything like this, their houses destroyed.”
Terzi spoke to Lotus FM’s Newsbreak:
Meanwhile, the United Nations has released 25 million dollars from its Central Emergency Fund to help people affected by the quake.
More details in video below:
