The earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria last week have so far killed more than 33,000 people.
AFP Pair
Dhe latest official reports show that the earthquake of February 6, of magnitude 7.8, claimed at least 33,179 lives: 29,605 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria.
In the locality of Hatay in Turkey, a fault 30 meters deep has formed, cutting in two a huge field of olive trees, reports the Turkish media Bursa5N1K.
Difficult humanitarian situation
In Jableh, on the Syrian coast, “many families have been separated, the situation is extremely difficult” and there is little hope of finding people alive, testifies Rouba Ahmed Shaheen, 43, member of the relief doctors, believing that “the city is doomed”.
In Turkey, cases of miraculous rescues well beyond the crucial 72-hour post-disaster period continue to be reported by relief workers and the media.
In Hatay, a 63-year-old woman, Hafsa Dagci, was pulled from the rubble 158 hours after the earthquake. In Adiyaman, a 23-year-old woman, Elif Kirmizi, was rescued 153 hours after the earthquake, one hour after the rescue of her sister Rabia, a 28-year-old teacher.
Mustafa Sarigul, 35, was saved at the 149th hour in Hatay by Turkish gendarmes and teams from Italy and Romania, after twelve hours of efforts during which the man sang under the rubble to keep the moral.
However, some international rescue teams face threats.
The Israeli NGO United Hatzalah announced on Sunday the cessation of its operations in Turkey due to a “serious threat” against the security of its team.
On Saturday, the Austrian army had suspended its rescue operations for a few hours, citing “the security situation”. Three German organizations had also suspended their operations, due to the deterioration of “the security situation in the province of Hatay”, with “clashes between different factions”.
