The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria is reported to have risen to  44,000.

The number of people found alive under the rubble has dropped to only a handful in recent days. The head of Turkey’s disaster agency, Yunus Sezer, said rescue operations would be largely completed by Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the body of former Ghana international footballer Christian Atsu also found beneath a collapsed building in Antakya.
State news agency Anadolu initially reported on Saturday three people were found alive nearly two weeks after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit on February 6. But the agency later reported that one of them, a 12-year-old, had died.

AFP correspondents said rescuers from Kyrgyzstan continued working in Antakya with the hope of finding more people pulled out alive after thermal tests showed signs of life.

Teams on Friday pulled four people alive from the rubble, including a 45-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, in the surrounding Hatay province.

Rescues that were initially met with applause and relief, have in recent days been greeted more soberly.

Officials and medics said that 40,642 people had died in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria from the quake, bringing the confirmed total to 44,330. The toll from Syria has remained unchanged for days.

The disaster has put pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the slow response to the quake and why his government allowed such poor-quality buildings to be erected.