The 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck the border region between Turkey and Syria has now officially claimed more than 20,000 lives.
The disaster, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called "the disaster of the century", has now claimed more lives than the 2011 Fukushima quake that triggered a tsunami, which resulted in 18,400 deaths. The new figure, which is still expected to rise included 17,600 people in Turkey and more than 3,300 in Syria.
Tens of thousands have also been left injured and homeless from the devastating quake. During the early hours in Gaziantep, rescuers pulled Adnan Muhammed Korkut from a basement where he had been trapped since the tremor struck on Monday.
“Thank God you arrived,” he said, embracing his mother and others who leaned down to kiss and hug him as he was being loaded into an ambulance. “Thank you everyone.”
While he was trapped for 94 hours, the teenager said he was forced to drink his own urine for survival. “I was able to survive that way,” he said.
A rescue worker, identified only as Yasemin, told him: “I have a son just like you. I swear to you, I have not slept for four days. I swear I did not sleep; I was trying to get you out.”
Meanwhile, experts have stated that other survivors could remain trapped for a week or more, however, the chances of finding survivors in freezing temperatures are rapidly decreasing. Initially, emergency crews and volunteers dug through rubble and found the occasion person alive, but now the focus has begun to shift towards demolishing dangerously unstable structures.
One survivor in the Turkish city of Antakya (In the Hatay region close to the quake's epicentre), Ahmet Tokgoz, called for the government to evacuate people from the region. Many affected by the quake have lost their homes and have taken shelter in tents, stadiums, and other temporary accommodations.
“Especially in this cold, it is not possible to live here,” he said. “If people haven’t died from being stuck under the rubble, they’ll die from the cold.”
The winter weather and damage to roads and airports have restricted the extent of emergency support. Turkey’s disaster-management agency said more than 110,000 rescue personnel were now taking part in the effort and more than 5,500 vehicles, including tractors, cranes, bulldozers and excavators had been shipped.
The foreign ministry said 95 countries have offered help.
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