Turkey-Syria earthquake live news: No aid in NW Syria yet
- The Syrian Civil Defence, leading efforts to rescue people buried under rubble in rebel-held areas of earthquake-hit Syria, says it has not received any aid so far.
- The death toll from the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday has risen to more than 11,700.
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Tens dead in Adana due to quake
Adana has not been hit nearly as hard as other cities in the region, but buildings have fallen and at least 146 people in the city have died as a result of Monday’s earthquakes.
While riding a minibus to the site of a collapsed apartment, the driver stopped by a previously vacant lot full of tents to drop off a small packet of blankets.
Minutes ahead, two police officers were on guard near a crumpled building, which could not be accessed by rescue teams due to the risk of the adjacent building toppling.
EU to host donor conference on Syria, Turkey quake aid
The EU plans to host a donors conference in March to mobilise international aid for Syria and Turkey to deal with the devastating impact of this week’s earthquake, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said.
“We are now racing against the clock to save lives together. Soon we will provide relief aid, together. Turkiye and Syria can count on the EU,” von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.
The EU said the conference would be held early next month in Brussels in coordination with Turkish authorities “to mobilise funds from the international community in support for the people” of both countries.
“No one should be left alone when a tragedy like this hits a people,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
‘Put politics aside’, facilitate northwest Syria aid access: UN
A leading United Nations official has called for the facilitation of aid access to rebel-held areas in Syria’s northwest, warning that relief stocks will soon be depleted.
Rebel-held areas near Turkey’s border cannot receive aid from government-held parts of Syria without Damascus’s authorisation.
“Put politics aside and let us do our humanitarian work,” the UN’s resident Syria coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih said, warning, “We can’t afford to wait and negotiate. By the time we negotiate, it’s done, it’s finished.”
British charities to launch coordinated appeal to help quake victims
British humanitarian charities are to launch a joint appeal to raise funds for people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
The Disasters Emergency Committee is co-ordinating a rapid response by 14 charities, including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the government would match any donations made by the public.
“When disasters like these terrible earthquakes strike, we know the British people want to help,” he said.
Syrian man digs for 30 relatives buried by quakes
Malek Ibrahim made it out of his home after earthquakes hit Syria and thought he could breathe a sigh of relief. But 30 relatives were still unaccounted for elsewhere.
For the past two days, Ibrahim has been doggedly tearing at the rubble with his hands as he searches for family members who were buried when Monday’s deadly earthquakes struck both Syria and Turkey.
So far, he has managed to retrieve 10 bodies with help from residents and rescue workers in Besnaya, a village in northwestern Syria on the Turkish border.
His uncle, his cousin and their families were all trapped under debris.
“The whole family is gone. It’s complete genocide,” said the 40-year-old covered in dirt.
