International aid agencies are stepping up efforts to help millions of homeless people, many sleeping in tents, mosques, schools or cars, 11 days after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 42,000.
Two people were reported to have been pulled alive from the rubble in Turkey on Thursday, but such rescues have become increasingly rare, leaving anger to smoulder as hope dies.
A 17-year-old girl was extracted from the ruins of a collapsed apartment bloc in Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province, 248 hours since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the dead of night on Feb. 6.
Footage showed her being carried away on a stretcher covered with a thermal blanket while an emergency worker held an intravenous drip. About 10 hours later, Neslihan Kilic was rescued.
Kilic's brother-in-law told broadcaster CNN Turk that they had prepared her grave and asked the rescue workers to stop digging as they feared they would damage the remaining corpses under the rubble. Moments later, her voice was heard from under the ruins of the building. Kilic’s husband and two children are still missing.
The quake killed at least 36,187 people in southern Turkey, while authorities in neighbouring Syria have reported 5,800 deaths - a figure that has changed little in days.The United Nations on Thursday appealed for more than $1 billion in funds for the Turkish relief operation, just two days after launching a $400 million appeal for Syrians.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday in his first televised comments since the quake hit, said the response to the disaster required more resources than the government had available.
Neither Turkey nor Syria have said how many people are still missing.
U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths, who visited Turkey last week, said the people had “experienced unspeakable heartache”, adding that the UN must stand with them in their darkest hour and ensure they receive the support they need.
For families still waiting to retrieve relatives, there is growing anger over what they see as corrupt building practices and deeply flawed urban development that resulted in thousands of homes and businesses disintegrating.
Turkey has promised to investigate anyone suspected of responsibility for the collapse of buildings and has ordered the detention of more than 100 suspects, including developers.
