Turkey-Syria quake: Survivors of the catastrophe struggle to stay warm and fed

Thousands who lost their homes in a catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires and clamoured for food and water in the bitter cold three days after the temblor and series of aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 19300Rescuers continued their race to pull more people alive from the rubble with the window closing to find trapped survivorsWhile stories of miraculous rescues briefly buoyed spirits the grim reality of the hardship facing tens of thousands who survived the disaster cast a pallIn the Turkish city of Antakya dozens of people scrambled for aid in front of a truck distributing childrens coats and other suppliesAhmet Tokgoz a survivor called for the government to evacuate people from the devastated region While many of the tens of thousands who have lost their homes have found shelter in tents stadiums and other temporary accommodation others have spent the nights outdoors since Mondays 78 magnitude quakeEspecially in this cold it is not possible to live here he said People are warming up around campfires but campfires can only warm you up so much If people havent died from being stuck under the rubble theyll die from the coldMeanwhile the first UN aid trucks to enter rebelheld northwest Syria from Turkiye since the quake arrived Thursday morning Smaller aid organisations have sent in shipments but the UN is only authorised to deliver aid through one border crossing and road damage has prevented that thus farWinter weather and damage to roads and airports from the quake have hampered the response throughout a region already contending with the repercussions of more than a decade of civil war in SyriaThat conflict displaced millions of people within Syria and left many reliant on humanitarian aid while also sending millions more over the border into Turkiye to seek refuge Some in Turkiye have complained the response was too slowAny perception that President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government has mismanaged the crisis could hurt him at a time when he faces a tough battle for reelection in May Erdogan who was scheduled to continue his tour of devastated areas on Thursday has sought to play down the criticismMeanwhile emergency crews on both sides of the border worked through the night to find survivors Experts said the survival window for those trapped under the rubble or otherwise unable to obtain basic necessities was closing rapidly At the same time they said it was too soon to abandon hopeIn the Turkish town of Elbistan rescuers formed human chains as they dug through collapsed buildings urging quiet in the hopes of hearing stifled pleas for help But more and more often they pulled out dead bodies from under the rubbleThe family of Havva Havam still hoped to see three of its members alive again sitting by the fire opposite their former home now the pile of debrisAlso read Turkey earthquake NDRF rescues 6yearold girl in Gaziantep about 90hours after quakeIn Antakya to the south rescuers pulled out a young girl Hazal Guner from the ruins of a building and also rescued her father Soner Guner news agency IHA reportedAs they prepared to load the man into an ambulance rescue crews told him that his daughter was alive I love you all he faintly whisperedElsewhere in the city Serap Arslan said machinery only started to move some of the heavy concrete covering trapped people on WednesdayWe tried to clear the debris on our own but unfortunately our efforts have been insufficient the 45yearold saidTurkeys disaster management agency said more than 110000 rescue personnel were now taking part in the effort and more than 5500 vehicles including tractors cranes bulldozers and excavators had been shipped In the Syrian governmentheld city of Aleppo rescue workers pulled seven people out alive and 44 bodies on Thursday from a collapsed building in the city centre state TV reportedWe are racing against time Time is running out said the Syrian paramedic group in the rebelheld northwest known as White Helmets Every second could mean saving a lifeAs in Turkey heavy machinery was urgently needed there to speed up rescue operations the group said Aid efforts in Syria have been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebelheld region along the border which is surrounded by Russiabacked government forcesSyria itself is an international pariah under Western sanctions linked to the war On Thursday the first UN aid trucks crossed into northwest Syria from Turkey UN officials said they are also trying to scale up deliveries to the area from the capital DamascusThe shipment was scheduled before the earthquake happened but was delayed by the road damage UN officials said more trucks were set to follow with assistance specifically for the current crisis Still the scale of loss and suffering to tend to is massiveErdogan announced Thursday that the death toll had risen to more than 16100 in his country with more than 64000 injured On the Syrian side which includes in governmentheld and rebelheld areas of the border more than 3100 have been reported dead and more than 5000 injuredOn Wednesday Erdogan sought to deflect criticism of the response and vowed it was improving It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster Erdogan said as he visited the hardhit province of Hatay We will not leave any of our citizens uncared forHe also hit back at critics saying dishonourable people were spreading lies and slander about the governments actions He said the government would distribute 10000 Turkish lira 532 to affected familiesThe earthquakes toll is the highest worldwide since a 2011 earthquake off Japan triggered a tsunami killing nearly 20000 peopleThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason 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