Turkey-Syria earthquake: Survivors urgently need faster aid to ‘save lives’ – as WHO says disaster ‘overwhelmed everyone’
The World Health Organisation has said the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has “overwhelmed everyone” – amid warnings the flow of aid must be urgently sped up to save lives.
The number of people killed in both countries continues to grow and now stands at more than 33,000.
Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s executive director, said it was “misleading” to compare the impact in both countries, with so much relying on the “extent of the earthquake” and “population density”.
“There’s no question, certainly on the side of Turkey, there’s a matter of experience in terms of search and rescue, in terms of disaster response,” said Dr Ryan.
“They have had their fair share of disasters in the past – but I think what’s clear is that this disaster has overwhelmed everyone.”
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People ‘guarding their lives’
There has been criticism of the amount of aid reaching Syria – the worst-affected area is largely controlled by an Islamist group that is wary of shipments from government-held areas.
There is also only one border crossing open from Turkey to northwest Syria and the first UN convoy only reached the area on Thursday.
The WHO panel, speaking in Syria, said the country was not only battling the aftermath but also freezing temperatures and the end of a cholera outbreak.
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WHO ‘committed to supporting Syria’
Regional emergency director Dr Rick Brennan said around 350,000 people in Aleppo and Latakia were left homeless instantly and that providing care was an “enormous undertaking”.
He said many were being housed in mosques, schools, churches and centres, but that overcrowding is a problem.
“They are not acceptable conditions, so we are working with partners to look at other options,” he said.
There is also an increased risk of catching a disease due to the huge number of people and poor sanitation.
Survivors of the earthquake in the rebel-held town of Jandaris in Syria
Syrian people ‘abandoned’
The UN’s emergency relief co-ordinator, Martin Griffiths, is heading to Syria to try to urgently improve the flow of aid.
“We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” he tweeted on Sunday.
He told Sky’s Kay Burley that extra border crossings from Turkey to Syria must be opened urgently “to save lives”, calling it an “an open and shut case on humanitarian terms”.
Andrew Mitchell, the UK development minister, also admitted in a Sky News interview that aid Syria was “far more stretched” than in its neighbour.
He said he believed total deaths across both countries could end up being around 50,000.
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‘Extra crossing points needed to save lives’
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‘Clashes’ prompt some aid organisations to pause work
Meanwhile, the amount raised by people in Britain passed £60m in just three days, the Disasters Emergency Committee said on Sunday.
The committee distributes the money among a group of leading UK aid charities.
A week on from Monday’s earthquake, the chances of more people being dug out alive – like the boy rescued after five days – is all but gone.
The focus is now on recovering the countless bodies trapped under rubble of the countless buildings that collapsed.
Some 131 people involving in the building industry have been detained or had warrants issued for their arrest, according to Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay.
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Infant pulled from rubble after 139 hours
Many of the buildings that crumbled are believed to have not been robust enough, as construction codes are rarely enforced in the country.
The justice ministry has said it will set up an Earthquake Crimes Investigation bureau.
Looting of businesses and homes has also been reported in some areas of Turkey, with the country’s justice minister saying on Sunday that 57 people had been arrested.
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President Erdogan has said thieves will be dealt with firmly, but some business owners have been seen emptying their shops.
Two German aid organisations and rescuers from the Austrian army were also forced to pause work for a time on Saturday, citing “clashes between different groups” and “shots fired” in one Turkish town.
Israel pounded the outskirts of Gaza City overnight, as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Families streamed out of the city as the explosions hit.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40.
“No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Mahmoud Abedrabo mourns over the body of his son Hamada in Gaza City on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation.
“We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money,” she said.
Mourners pray next to the body of Palestinian boy Hamada Abedrabo on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Witnesses said that overnight they heard nonstop explosions in Zeitoun and Shejaia.
Tanks shelled houses and roads in Sabra, and buildings were blown up in Jabalia.
On Sunday, the IDF said its forces had returned to combat in Jabalia to strengthen its control of the area and dismantle militant tunnels.
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
This month, Israel approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City. The offensive isn’t expected to start for another few weeks.
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In the meantime, mediators in Egypt and Qatar are trying to resume ceasefire talks between the two sides.
On Friday, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas releases all its remaining hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms.
Mourners transport the body of Ahmed Balata on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Around half of Gaza’s two million residents currently live in the city and on Friday a global hunger monitor said that Gaza City and its surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread.
Israel said the monitor ignores steps Israel has taken since late July to increase aid supplies into and across Gaza.
Eight more people died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry on Saturday.
281 people, including 114 children, have now died of malnutrition and starvation since the war started, according to the ministry.
The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel, mainly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and internally displaced nearly its entire population.
Two married couples have died after a British car veered off the road and crashed in Germany, according to police.
The fatal accident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday in the trees near a highway in the Kassel district, north of Hesse in central Germany.
The 32-year-old male driver, a 31-year-old female passenger, a 32-year-old female passenger, and a 30-year-old female passenger all died at the scene, despite the efforts of German emergency services.
Sky News understands UK officials have not been contacted for assistance.
At roughly 12.30am on Saturday, the car appears to have veered off the road and crashed into nearby trees around 30m from the road, according to the Kassel police department.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
One of the victim’s phones automatically alerted the emergency services to the incident, who sent an ambulance to the scene.
Soon, fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and emergency support vehicles were all dispatched.
When emergency workers arrived, the car was lying on its side, wedged between several trees.
It wasn’t until they removed the roof that they found all four passengers.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
The accident happened on Highway L3229
The emergency workers who dealt with the victims were immediately supported by the specialist mental health workers at the fire station in Reinhardshagen.
“This high number of deaths is an extraordinary operation for our Reinhardshagen Volunteer Fire Department,” said a fire department spokesperson.
“For some of the emergency personnel, it is the first time they have been confronted with death in this way.
“Therefore, a great deal is being done to help us process these images. We will also discuss this among ourselves and within families, because not everyone can easily shake off what they have seen.”
An investigation into the accident is ongoing and is being conducted by the Hofgeismar police station.
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