Turkey-Syria earthquake: Rescuers flood into Hatay at last – but face a scene of mind-blowing devastation

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2023

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The tempo of the earthquake rescue operation has changed dramatically in Hatay in southern Turkey.

The province near the Syrian border is one of the areas most impacted by the multiple earthquakes which struck Turkey and Syria this week – if not the worst-hit area.

And the massive scale of the destruction here is utterly mind-blowing.

Now, after days of repeated cries for help and multiple complaints about lack of action and help for the area, it is now flooded with volunteers, aid workers, military police and civil society groups.

Turkey-Syria earthquake – updates: Number of dead nears 12,000

There’s a constant hum of helicopters flying overhead and the scream of sirens everywhere.

There is a stream of ambulances zipping up and down Ataturk Avenue, the main road into the provincial capital, Antakya.

And on Wednesday there are now scores of excavation vehicles and mechanical diggers in the area, as well as winches and cranes to lift the piles of rubble in every corner of this city.

President Erdogan has flown into the earthquake zone today.

His first stop was Kahramanmaras in the southeast, where he admitted there had been mistakes on day one of the relief operation.

He didn’t offer any explanation for the mistakes but insisted everything was now under control.

Heartbreaking line to read labels on bodies

Certainly, the people of Hatay have seen a marked influx of personnel and aid groups to the area in contrast to the previous two days when there appeared to be woefully little.

But such is the scale of this disaster here, they can’t get too much help right now.

We saw several lines of dead bodies lying on pavements; outside apartment blocks, and placed in the centre of fields.

Sometimes they’re just covered in blankets but others have labels stuck on them.

There’s a heartbreaking line of people checking the labels to see if it’s their loved one who has been found.

One man fell in a heap on the black bag as he recognised the name. This mass mourning means there’s no embarrassment in grief and it is rarely private.

Few have homes to retreat to now so he sobbed long and hard, sitting next to the corpse, unable to wrench himself away.

Survivors too scared to sleep indoors

These past few days have jettisoned Turkey into a dystopian nightmare where there appears to be no safety, and no end to the suffering.

Within a split second, so many homes were transformed into concrete coffins – crushing the inhabitants and traumatising the survivors.

Multiple tremors and aftershocks followed the main earthquake, including a separate second quake which brought down even more buildings or left them seriously structurally unsound.

It has meant thousands and thousands of people are far too scared to sleep indoors or return to their homes – and that’s IF the buildings are in a fit state to return to.

They’re sleeping rough in vehicles if they have them or on the pavements. Some have found shelter in tents which are rapidly being put up.

And yet amid the hourly struggle to just survive this disaster – to find food, keep warm, and keep clean – many relatives are focusing on finding and saving those loved ones they haven’t yet found.

Many insist they can still hear noises from beneath the rubble.

The human body has an incredible capacity to survive. Hope is harder to crush than an eight-storey building, it seems.

‘No help’ as dead made to wait

The urgent search for the living means the dead are having to wait right now.

We saw residents scurrying past groups of bodies laid out on the pavements.

Death doesn’t shock Antakya’s people in quite the same way as it did on 6 February.

But despite the dramatic change in relief efforts here, there are still multiple concerns about the disorganised rescue operations and how they are being conducted.

“We have had no help,” one woman told us. “Those bodies have lain there [on the pavement] for two days now.

“Why do they not clear them?”

She immediately launched into an angry tirade against two volunteers passing by with uniforms on, urging them to come and help clear the collapsed building where her relatives still are.

British team ‘keen to save lives’

We saw a 76-strong team of British search and rescue volunteers who landed in the area and within half an hour had fanned out across four different zones in Antakya to assess the situation and draw up a plan of action to help.

They are the first international team we have spotted here.

We’re told others have arrived from Russia and Israel – 45 countries have offered their help – but we have seen none on the ground yet in Hatay.

That is until the team of British firefighters trained in search and rescue arrived.

They brought with them four sniffer dogs and specialised search and rescue equipment.

“We’ve been keen to get started,” one of the team told us.

Dog handler Neil Woodmansey said: “We are a heavy rescue team and we have the dogs and the equipment and we’re hoping to make a difference.

“The only reason we are here is to try to save lives.

“There’s always hope and there’s lots of evidence to suggest people in the right conditions survive for quite some time so that’s what we’re here for.”

By Alex Crawford, reporting from Hatay in southern Turkey with cameraman Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Guldenay Sonumut.

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Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

54 mins ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

4 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

10 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.