On Wednesday, the death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria surpassed 11,200 as rescuers raced to save survivors trapped under debris in the bitter winter cold, Prime9jaOnline has learnt.
According to officials and medics, 8,574 people died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria as a result of Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake, bringing the total to 11,236.
Nearly 50,000 people were also injured in Turkey, with another 5,000 injured in Syria, according to officials and rescuers on both sides.
During a visit to Kahramanmaras, a southern Turkish city at the epicenter of the initial quake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provided an update on casualty figures.
Television images showed him hugging a weeping, elderly woman and walking through a large crowd towards a Red Crescent humanitarian relief tent.
Facing a tough May 14 re-election, Erdogan pledged to rebuild the damaged regions within a year.
He also appeared to push back against criticism that the government’s response to Turkey’s worst disaster in decades has been slow.
“Initially there were issues at airports and on the roads, but today things are getting easier and tomorrow it will be easier still,” he said in televised remarks.
“We have mobilised all our resources,” he added. “The state is doing its job.”