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More than 34,000 people have died across Turkey and Syria after devastating earthquake
More than 34,000 people have died across Turkey and Syria after devastating earthquake
From Eyad Kourdi in Gaziantep
A person visits the graves of people who lost their lives in the earthquake in Adiyaman, Turkey, on February 11. (Mehmet Kacmaz/Getty Images)
The death toll across Turkey and Syria following Monday’s catastrophic earthquake has reached at least 34,179 on Sunday.
The death toll in Turkey has reached 29,605, Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM said Sunday.
The confirmed death toll in Syria is 4,574. That number includes more than 3,160 in opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria, according to the health ministry of the Salvation Government governance authority.
The Syrian death toll also includes 1,414 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to state news agency SANA.
3:00 p.m. ET, February 12, 2023
WHO waiting for final approval to send deliveries into rebel-held northwest Syria
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Chris Liakos
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is waiting for final approval to send crossline deliveries into northwest Syria, where rebel groups in the country's long-running civil war control territory and aid deliveries have faced obstacles.
The WHO hopes its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will soon be able to travel into the rebel-held areas hit by Monday's devastating earthquake, the organization said Sunday.
Tedros and a team of top WHO officials arrived in Aleppo on Saturday on a humanitarian aid flight carrying over $290,000 worth of trauma emergency and surgical kits.
Rick Brennan, a regional emergency director with the WHO, said in a media briefing from Damascus Sunday that there have been "no crossline deliveries" into northwest Syria since the earthquake struck Monday.
"We have one scheduled in the next couple of days. We are still negotiating for that to go ahead," Brennan said, adding that before the earthquake the WHO was "planning a significant expansion of our crossline work."
According to Brennan, the WHO has the approval of the Syrian government in Damascus but is waiting for the "approval ... from entities on the other side."
"We are working very, very hard to negotiate that access," Brennan stressed.
On Sunday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths tweeted that "trucks with UN relief are rolling into north-west Syria," posting pictures of trucks being loaded for cross-border deliveries. Although he said he was "encouraged by the scale-up of convoys from the UN transshipment centre at the Turkish border," the aid chief stressed the need to "open more access points" to get aid out quicker.
This call was echoed by Raed Al Saleh, the head of volunteer organization the White Helmets, in a tweet Sunday. Al Saleh said that after meeting with Griffiths at the Turkish-Syrian border Sunday, his group had appreciated the "apology for the shortcomings & mistakes," made. He called on the UN to act now outside the Security Council to "open 3 crossings for emergency aid" to northwest Syria.
An already struggling health care system: The WHO official reiterated that even before the earthquake, only 51% of medical facilities in government-held Syria were fully functional, with around 25% to 30% at partial capacity. He said that although the WHO does not have access to the same level of data when it comes to medical care in northwest, they estimated "probably similar figures" as far as capacity is concerned.
"I think this is one of these cases where 10 years of war, or 10 years of instability, have just pulverized this health system to a point where it just can't deliver adequately," said Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program.
"That's not only physical damage to the infrastructure itself, but the loss of salaries, loss of training. And it's just been that 'death by 1000 cuts' to the system, and then the system has reacted admirably to what's been a massive disaster, but people can only do so much," Ryan remarked.
2:17 p.m. ET, February 12, 2023
Survivors are still being rescued after nearly a week under the rubble. Here are some of their stories
From CNN's Amarachi Orie
Rescue workers carry Yigit Cakmak from the site of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 8. (Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Five days after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, teams are rushing to save victims that could still be alive under rubble, with a UN liaison officer in Turkey warning that they are "approaching the end of the search and rescue window."
While calling on the international community to "act immediately" in providing humanitarian aid to Syria, Syrian-American actor Jay Abdo told CNN on Saturday that civilians were "racing against time" to rescue loved ones.
More than 25,000 people have died across both countries, according to authorities.
However, in the midst of tragedy, there have been miraculous scenes of survival and rescue, even days after the quake.
Here's a list of survivors who, against the odds, were found among the wreckage:
A teenage girl, Ayşe (Reem Khaled Naasani), was rescued in Hatay Sunday some 162 hours after the quake, according to the Istanbul mayor. And a 50-year-old woman named Guler Agritmis was also rescued Sunday after spending days under the rubble, the Turkish state broadcaster TRT reports.
Sixty-seven-year-old Abdulkerim Bey and his wife, Senem, were found under the rubble during the sixth day of rescues by Gendarmerie Search and Rescue team in Kahramanmaras on Saturday, according to CNN affiliate CNN Turk.
A 16-year-old-boy named Hedil was also rescued alive from the Zümrüt apartment in Kahramanmaras, CNN Turk reports.
In Gaziantep, Turkey, 132 hours after the earthquake struck, Sezai Karabas was rescued shortly after his young daughter. According to CNN Turk, he pleaded with rescuers to search for his wife next, who he believed is still alive in a doorway. “I am forever in your debt,” he told rescuers.
Around the same time, rescue workers lifted a 34-year-old man, Ergin Guzeldogan, from deep within the ground in the province of Hatay, video from the Municipality of Istanbul showed.
A 70-year-old woman, named as Menekse Tabak, was rescued from the rubble in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, 121 hours after the quake hit.
Sisters Fatma and Merve Demir were rescued from under concrete in Turkey on Wednesday, after spending 62 hours beneath a collapsed building.
A similar situation transpired in Syria, where two children were wedged between concrete for 36 hours, with one sister shielding the other, before they were rescued.
A child, 8-year-old Yigit Cakmak, was rescued from a collapsed building in Turkey's Hatay province, 52 hours after the initial earthquake struck the region. He was captured in the arms of his mother after they were reunited.
A 10-year old was found alive in the same region after 90 hours, where a 21-year-old man was rescued six hours earlier.
A newborn baby girl was found alive in Syria on Tuesday with her umbilical cord still attached to her mother, who is believed to have died after giving birth.
Magnitude 4.6 aftershock strikes Turkey's earthquake-hit zone, government says
From CNN's Gul Tuysuz
A magnitude 4.6 aftershock struck Turkey’s earthquake zone on Sunday according to AFAD, the country’s disaster management body.
12:29 p.m. ET, February 12, 2023
Baby rescued from rubble in Turkey's Hatay province after 108 hours
From CNN's Isil Sariyuce
A baby was rescued in Turkey's Hatay province 108 hours after the deadly earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Sunday.
According to CNN affiliate CNN Turk, the baby is two months old.
Koca also posted videos of the baby to Twitter, and said he survived despite being hungry for hours. The baby is in Adana City Hospital now and is in good health, according to Koca.
Turkish state broadcaster also showed a video of the baby smiling and laughing, saying he was alive after “arduous efforts to rescue” him.
1:28 p.m. ET, February 12, 2023
Greek and Turkish foreign ministers exchange words of gratitude during visit to earthquake zone
From CNN’s Chris Liakos
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias inspect a quake-hit region in Hatay, Turkey, on February 12. (Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias arrived in Turkey on Sunday to meet his counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in light of Monday's deadly earthquake and the subsequent assistance Greece offered.
Greece and Turkey are often at odds over territorial disputes and migration, regularly trading threats and blame. But diplomatic tension eased this week following the quake.
Greece – a country that also sees regular earthquakes – was one of the first to send assistance for search and rescue operations.
The two ministers met in the southern Turkish city of Adana where, in a rare sight of solidarity, they embraced before departing for Hatay to meet the Greek rescue mission operating in devastated areas, according to a video by Turkish state news agency Anadolu and the official Twitter page of the Greek foreign minister.
They later held a short televised presser in Hatay, during which Cavusoglu thanked the Greek government and its people for their solidarity.
“Greece was one of the first countries to call Turkey immediately after the earthquake struck, and offer to help. They immediately dispatched their search and rescue teams; and conveyed humanitarian relief to Turkey with a large number of planes,” Cavusoglu said.
“Good neighbors prove their worth on days such as this,” said the Turkish foreign minister, adding that there was no need to wait for another disaster to improve relations between the two neighbors.
“With each survivor rescued, we have seen happiness lighting up the faces of both members of the Greek teams, and the Greek people as a whole,” said Cavusoglu.
Earlier this week, Greek public broadcaster ERT showed a live rescue of a 6-year-old girl in Hatay by the Greek rescue team, which was widely shared on Greek and Turkish social media. The Greek rescue team and locals were seen clapping and hugging with tears of joy.
Dendias, who is the first European foreign minister to visit the earthquake zone, said Sunday that Greece would "do whatever it can to support Turkey in this very difficult moment.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in a Facebook post Sunday: “We may have political differences, but the people of Greece and Turkey are friends."
12:19 p.m. ET, February 12, 2023
UAE foreign minister meets with Syrian president following deadly earthquake
From Celine Alkhaldi and Manveena Suri
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, right, meets with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, February 12. (SANA/AP)
The United Arab Emirates' foreign minister met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in the country to discuss the repercussions of the deadly earthquake, SANA reported.
Assad thanked bin Zayed for the UAE’s support, adding that it was one of the first countries to send humanitarian assistance alongside search and rescue teams.
Bin Zayed expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured, reiterating the UAE’s support.
Following the meeting with Assad, he visited areas affected by the earthquake and was briefed on efforts being made by Emirati rescue teams, SANA reported.
9:56 a.m. ET, February 12, 2023
Earthquake death toll exceeds 33,000 across Turkey and Syria -- and is expected to rise
From CNN's Isil Sariyuce, Eyad Kourdi and Chris Liakos
People mourn their relatives at a mass grave in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 10. (Sedat Suna/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
The death toll across Turkey and Syria following Monday’s catastrophic earthquake has reached 33,181, according to the latest figures.
The death toll in Turkey has climbed to 29,605, Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM said Sunday.
In Syria, the total number of deaths stands at 3,576, including 2,168 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the ‘White Helmets’ civil defense group, and 1,408 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to Syrian state media citing the health ministry on Saturday.
Hatay airport in Turkey resumes operations following deadly earthquake
From Isil Sariyuce and Chris Liakos
Turkey’s Hatay airport – which is located in one of the provinces worst hit by Monday’s catastrophic earthquake – has resumed operations, the Turkish Transport Ministry said on Sunday.
“We quickly repaired the damage on the Hatay Airport runway. Our airport started to operate today,” Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said in its official Twitter page, sharing before and after images of the airport’s runway, which was badly damaged following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and was deemed “unusable” by officials.
According to the IGA Istanbul Airport operator, the repair works began on February 8 and lasted 96 hours.
Istanbul Airport Technical Services deputy general manager Fırat Emsen stated that construction and technical teams worked non-stop for 4 days, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.
The airport is expected to play a vital role in quickly and effectively distributing the logistics aid that was sent to the disaster area, ensuring that the aid is delivered to the earthquake victims in Hatay and surrounding provinces, Anadolu reported.
Emsen said it was “critical” to get the airport working again, according to the news agency.
The airport is located between Antakya and Iskenderun, two cities severely impacted by the earthquake.
