Turkey ends rescue efforts in all but two earthquake-hit provinces

Turkey has said rescue teams have stopped recovery efforts in all but two hardest hit provinces, a fortnight after the catastrophic earthquake that laid waste to parts of the country.

“In many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed. They continue in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay provinces,” said Disaster Relief Agency chief Yunus Sezer during a press briefing in Ankara.

Efforts, however, will continue in the cities of Antakya and Kahmaranmaraş, which were rendered largely uninhabitable by the 7.8 magnitude quake, which killed more than 41,000 people in southern Turkey and at least 4,000 more in neighbouring Syria.

The quake’s epicentre was in Pazarcik district in Kahramanmaraş, where thousands of buildings collapsed and much of the city lies in ruins.

Sezer said search and rescue efforts continued at about 40 buildings in the provinces, but expected this number to fall by Sunday evening. In Antakya, rescue teams continued to pore over rubble during the weekend, rescuing a man and a woman who had survived for 13 days. The couple’s three children perished.

Large teams of rescuers remained at the ready, but largely confined to tented bases in parklands near the centre of the city, which was at the heart of a contentious construction boom that saw large numbers of buildings rapidly constructed over the past two decades.

Hopes of finding more survivors are close to zero, as officials now turn to how to repair the devastation that has forced millions of people from their homes. Many have sought refuge in neighbouring towns and cities, where an international aid effort that was slow to begin with has now ramped up.

The UK development minister, Andrew Mitchell, arrived in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Sunday to inspect post earthquake aid projects funded by Britain, the cost of which amount to more than £34m.

“As this evolving situation heads into a new phase from rescue to recovery, I’ve seen first-hand the incredible efforts on the ground at the field hospital, with UK medical teams providing live-saving operations, including to those rescued from under the rubble.

“The British public’s response to the Disasters and Emergency Committee appeal, which has now reached a staggering £88m, underlines the strong support from the UK for rescue and recov

ery following this tragic event.

The Turkish vice-president, Fuat

Oktay, said on Saturday that about 105,000 buildings had either collapsed, needed to be demolished or were severely damaged in the quake.