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Rescue workers continue to search among the rubble at the site of buildings that collapsed after an earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
ANKARA – Hopes of finding survivors quickly dimmed as rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched the rubble of thousands of buildings collapsed by the quake for signs of life.
The world’s deadliest earthquake in more than a decade killed 12,000 people on Wednesday night (8/2/2023).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the hardest-hit province of Hatay, where more than 3,300 people died and entire neighborhoods were destroyed.
Residents there have criticized the government’s response, complaining of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped. Even now they still hear the screams for help.
“Where is the country? Where have they been for two days? We beg them. Let’s do it, we can get them out,” said Sabiha Alinak.
Also read: Syria Earthquake Victims Angry and Sad No Foreign Aid Came, Very Different from Turkey
He stood near a collapsed building covered in snow, where his young relatives were trapped in the city of Malatya.
There were similar scenes and complaints in neighboring Syria, whose north was also hit by Monday’s earthquake.
The Syrian ambassador to the UN acknowledged the government had a “lack of capability and equipment”. He blamed the conditions on more than 10 years of civil war in the country as well as Western sanctions.
Also read: Earthquake Victims Buried in Flood Debris Social Media to Ask for Help
