Earthquake death toll in Turkey-Syria increases to over 15 thousand

As rescuers are racing against time to find more survivors in Turkey and Syria amid the harsh freezing temperatures, the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck the two countries earlier this week has increased to 15,383 as of Thursday, according to authorities.

In its latest update, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said the country’s overall death toll currently stood at 12,391 people, with 62,914 others injured, reports Anadolu News Agency

More than 6,000 buildings collapsed in the aftermath of Monday’s massive 7.8-magnitude quake, while more than 13 million people have been impacted so far in the 10 Turkish regions of Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis.

In Syria, there were at least 2,992 deaths, of which 1,730 were reported in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets” civil defence group, and 1,262 fatalities were registered in government-controlled parts of the country, says the state media, CNN reported.

Since the disaster struck on Monday, 70 countries and 14 international organisations have offered Turkey relief, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

However, the international aid situation in Syria is less clear as the Country has been heavily sanctioned due to the ongoing civil war.