Death toll from Turkey-syria earthquakes passes 20,000

ISTANBUL — The death toll from earthquakes that devastated wide swathes of Turkey and Syria passed 20,000 on Thursday, as hope of finding survivors beneath the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings diminished.

There were 17,134 confirmed deaths in Turkey and another 3,317 in Syria, putting the total at 20,451 — a staggering loss of life that makes it one of the deadliest temblors in decades.

More than 75,000 people were injured in the two successive powerful earthquakes that struck the region early on Monday.

Countless people were left without homes and unable to access basic goods and services, especially in war-torn Syria where international aid has been slow to arrive.

The Turkish government said more than 100,000 people were combing the debris fields for a fourth day, including teams from abroad.

Turkish public broadcaster TRT reported that about 8,000 people have been rescued from the rubble in Turkey so far.

Two brothers, ages 5 and 11, were found alive in Kahramanmaras province about 84 hours after being buried in the quake, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.

Images showed the brothers being bundled into blankets and carried away to the hospital.

There was also good news from Hatay province: Three people were recovered alive there on Thursday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

But while dramatic success stories still trickled in, the crucial 72-hour survival window for trapped victims had long passed and work was shifting to the recovery of bodies.

To help the hard-toreach earthquake victims in northwestern Syria, six trucks carrying U.N. relief supplies arrived on Thursday. The vehicles departed from Turkey and passed through the only remaining open border crossing at Bab al-hawa, according to the United Nations.

Activists in Syria reported that these were aid shipments that had already been planned before Monday’s earthquakes. Urgently needed equipment for rescue teams in Syria was not included — instead, goods such as detergent were on board.

Ubadah Zekra, a coordinator with Syria’s White Helmets rescuers, painted a bleak picture.

“We are using our hands and shovels to remove the rubble. Some of us have only slept not more than six hours in the last 70 hours . ... Our hearts are broken but the teams are determined to try to save as many lives as we can.”

He told dpa some responders had recovered the bodies of friends and family members.

The White Helmets reported Thursday evening that three children were found alive in the ruins of their home in a village west of the city of Idlib. Their mother died. Their father, who was not at the house at the time of the quake, survived.