The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has already claimed more than 45,000 lives, and the death toll is projected to rise given that 264,000 apartments in Turkey were damaged and many people are still missing as a result of the nation’s biggest modern calamity.
Three people were pulled from the dust in Turkey on Friday, eleven days after the earthquake struck. Turkey currently has 39,672 fatalities, whilst Syria, which is next door, has over 5,800. The death toll in Syria has not changed in days.
The dead in Turkey and Syria, many of whom were unable to get complete burial rituals due to the magnitude of the catastrophe, were remembered at mosques around the world on Friday during absentee funeral prayers.
Local teams continued to search through devastated buildings on Saturday in the hopes of discovering additional people who defied the odds, despite the fact that many international rescue teams had already left the massive earthquake zone. According to experts, 24 hours after an earthquake is when most rescues take place. The 40-year-old Hakan Yasinoglu was saved 278 hours after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake happened on February 6 in the middle of the night in the southern province of Hatay, according to the Istanbul Fire Brigade.
In the past, the lives of Mustafa Avci, 34, and Osman Halebiye, 14 years old, were saved in Antakya, a historic city in Turkey that was formerly known as Antioch. Avci was put on a video call with his parents while being carried away, and they showed him his newborn child.
ANGER RAISES
The number of individuals still missing following the earthquake has not been confirmed by either Turkey or Syria. Growing anger toward what they perceive as dishonest building techniques and seriously faulty urban development, which led to thousands of homes and businesses falling, is felt by families who are still waiting to reconnect with relatives in Turkey.
Turkey has ordered the arrest of more than 100 people, including developers, and committed to look into anyone suspected of being responsible for the collapse of buildings. The United Nations announced a $400 million appeal for Syrians on Thursday in addition to a $1 billion appeal for the Turkish rescue operation.