Quake survivors seek hot meals
ADIYAMAN, Turkey — Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered its last hours.
Rescue teams that included Turkish coal miners and experts using sniffer dogs and thermal cameras searched pulverized apartment blocks for signs of life.
In southern Hatay province, rescuers cheered and clapped as a 13year-old boy identified only by his first name, Kaan, was pulled from the rubble.
Stories of near-miraculous rescues have flooded the airwaves in recent days, including many that were broadcast live on Turkish television and beamed around the world. But tens of thousands of dead have been found during the same period. Experts say the window for such rescues has nearly closed, given the length of time that has passed, the fact that temperatures have fallen to 21 degrees Fahrenheit and the severity of the building collapses.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks Feb. 6 struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, reducing huge swaths of towns and cities to mountains of broken concrete and twisted metal. The death toll has surpassed 35,000.
In some areas, search teams placed signs that read “ses yok” or “no sound” in front of buildings they had inspected for signs of life, Haberturk television reported.
Associated Press journalists in Adiyaman saw a sign painted on a concrete slab in front of wreckage indicating that an expert had inspected it. In Antakya, people left signs near rubble with their phone numbers on them, asking crews to contact them if they find bodies.
The quake's financial damage in Turkey alone was estimated at $84.1 billion, according to the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation, a non-governmental business organization.
Elsewhere, Turkey offered to open a second border crossing to assist the international aid effort to Syria, and the United Nations said “a lot of delicate discussions” were taking place to open more border-crossings.