Turkish authorities have arrested 131 suspects following investigations into the buildings that were flattened by the deadly earthquakes, TRT Haber reported on Sunday.

430 suspects were reportedly responsible for the destroyed buildings.

Xu Yingqiang and his teammates left for Istanbul on Wednesday, after completing their five-day rescue mission in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the deadly earthquakes that hit both Türkiye and Syria on February 6.

The city of Kahramanmaras is the hometown of their Turkish interpreter Irem who gave herself a Chinese name Zhou Shixi. She told Xu it was hard to see her hometown destroyed this way, and would like to thank Chinese rescuers for sparing no effort to support her country's relief efforts, giving hope to the locals.

Wearing the blue helmet and uniform of China's Blue Sky Rescue, Xu is one of the hundreds of Chinese rescuers who went to the earthquake-stricken country last week.

Xu said he decided to build a rescue team after witnessing how rescuers saved survivors after an earthquake hit Ya'an in southwest China's Sichuan Province in 2013. He established the first Blue Sky Rescue team in his hometown a year later, which now has over 200 team members.

"It is one of the many rescue teams of China's civil relief squad," said Xu. "All of our members are ready to lend a helping hand when necessary."

By February 14, China's civilian rescuers searched and rescued 23 survivors and 181 victims in Türkiye, according to the coordination base camp established to organize China's civil relief personnel for the earthquake response in Türkiye under the guidance of the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Xu normally works as an instructor of rescue skills at a vocational education center in the city of Handan in northern China's Hebei Province. As the team leader of the city's Blue Sky Rescue, the 42-year-old applied to join the relief mission immediately after he saw news about the severity of the earthquake in Türkiye.

"I thought I couldn't wait any longer. Time means life. I might help save more lives the earlier I got there," Xu told CGTN. "Rescue has no borders."

At that time, thousands of rescuers from all over China applied to support the international relief response. The first batches of Chinese rescuers arrived in Türkiye within 48 hours after the quakes.

Through rigorous qualification verification, Xu was chosen as the 11th batch of volunteers dispatched by China to Türkiye.

Xu arrived in Kahramanmaras on February 11, along were six other rescuers and their heavy tool boxes. They brought everything they could possibly need, including life detectors, drills, cutters, shears and protection gear.

"The city is basically in ruins. Only several buildings still stand, but with cracks all over them," Xu recalled. "It was cold at the beginning and it was about -2 degrees Celsius in the following days. When I drank bottled water, there was ice in it."

Quick, quick, quick

With life detectors at hand, Xu and his teammates were assigned tasks of detecting and locating buried people, a crucial phase in rescue. Sometimes after locating a person, they would hand the task over to local rescue teams to excavate so that they could search for life at another spot.

Excavation requires great care to avoid hurting the buried individual. Both heavy bulldozers and light demolition tools are needed to dig holes and channels, which is time-consuming.

"Life detection and excavation are often repeated several times to locate a buried survivor. The excavation could take as long as a day or two, or as short as two to three hours," said Xu.

"To work more efficiently, we took turns to take a break on site," Xu said. "We each get to rest for about three hours a day."

Xu's teammates come from different cities across China. From commander to recorder, they had a clear division of labor within the team.

"We could understand each other's next move with one signal," said Xu.

Three local interpreters followed them closely, for fear of failed communication which might affect rescue operations. One of the first words they learned in Turkish was "is anyone there" and they shouted as a group while detecting life. With interpreters' help, Xu's team worked side by side with rescue teams from other countries, discussing rescue plans and sharing rescue skills.

"None of the four people we pulled out survived," said Xu. "Fortunately, in the area we did life detection, three survivors were successfully rescued by local rescue teams and other international teams."

Hoping for a miracle

The 72 hours of golden rescue window had passed, and the chances of survival at the site of the collapse were very low. Still, they wouldn't give up any hope. During the rescue, Xu heard cheers in different languages when they saved survivors from the rubble, but few people were as lucky.

A girl in her twenties gave Xu's team a box of candy at a rescue site on Wednesday, thanking them for their rescue efforts. Xu saw tears run off her face the moment she turned away. He was saddened to learn that the girl's parents and a three-year-old brother were still missing under the rubble.

Xu also remembered a man who asked for help to search for his girlfriend whenever he met a rescuer.

"He, like many others, stayed beside the ruins hoping for a miracle. Hearing his cries when his girlfriend's body was found, all the people present could not help but shed tears," Xu sighed. "Rescuers really tried the best to be quicker, and quicker."

As of Wednesday, the death toll from the earthquakes has risen to at least 35,418, according to Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The country was grateful that 84 countries sent rescue teams and 61 countries provided humanitarian aid, during the over 3,100 aftershocks.

At present, the focus of the relief efforts has shifted from life rescue to recovery in Türkiye. Xu hopes locals there can rebuild their homes as soon as possible.

Video edited by Shi Chan

Two weeks after Türkiye was struck by two massive earthquakes, the Turkish government is still scrambling to provide shelter for at least a million people left homeless by the disaster.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday arrived at Türkiye's Incirlik Air Base and was greeted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He and Cavusoglu conducted aerial surveys in the earthquake zone with a helicopter belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces, Anadolu Agency reported.

Also topping the agenda will be the stalled NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, which Türkiye has so far refused to ratify. Ankara has recently indicated it would approve only Finland.

(With input from Reuters)

The search and rescue operations ended on Sunday in most of the quake-affected areas in Türkiye, except Kahramanmaras and Hatay, following major earthquakes on February 6, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has announced.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 40,689, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Sunday.

A magnitude-4.7 earthquake hit Türkiye's Malatya Province at a depth of 7 kilometers on Sunday, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

A convoy of 14 International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres/MSF) trucks entered northwestern Syria on Sunday to assist in the earthquake rescue operation, Reuters reported, citing the MSF.

The number of aftershocks in Türkiye has reached 6,040 after earthquakes hit the country on February 6, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said at a press conference on Sunday.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Sunday dismissed claims about an influx of Syrian refugees from Türkiye's southern border. He said 10,633 Syrians had voluntarily returned to their home country across the border after the recent earthquakes, Anadolu Agency reported.

At least 40,642 people have been killed and over 108,000 people were injured in two earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6, according to the latest official figures.

A couple and their son were extracted from under debris on February 18, 296 hours after the deadly earthquake in Antakya, Türkiye. The boy later died, according to the Anadolu news agency in Türkiye. Search and rescue work following the February 6 quake is still in progress.

One local Syrian community has come together in the aftermath of the earthquake that displaced thousands of families. Donors and volunteers are working together to meet the needs of those housed in temporary shelters in Aleppo.

The death toll from the earthquakes that devastated southern Türkiye and northern Syria almost two weeks ago has surpassed 46,000. Rescue operations continue in Hatay and Kahramanmaras. The United Nations is appealing for $1 billion in aid for Türkiye.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 40,642, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Saturday.

Istanbul authorities have decided to evacuate 93 schools in the city that are deemed "risky" after recent earthquakes, local media reported on Saturday.

Miraculous rescues have been performed in Türkiye and Syria, after last week's devastating earthquakes razed buildings and buried untold numbers of people under piles of rubble. 

Many emergency teams have been aided by rescue dogs, who carefully scrabble through the debris to search for signs of life. 

But how do they operate in the aftermath of Türkiye's worst natural disaster in more than a century?

"So when we arrive at the rubble site, the commander will first do a recce of the security and safety situation," says Markus Bock, a spokesman for deployment in the International Search and Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO), which deployed 84 people and six dogs to Türkiye's historic city of Antakya.

Once the crew determines it's safe to operate, the dogs spring into action, and start trying to sniff out survivors. Bock says they have been trained to bark to their handlers and stay in place, if they detect someone's scent. 

The next step involves using detection equipment – like cameras, thermal imaging or audio devices – to pinpoint the exact location of the potential survivor. 

"We get a clear picture about the constitution of the victim and the position of the victim," says Bock. "And afterwards the whole squad, more or less, is in action to move the rubble."

Doctors and paramedics then help stabilize the trapped survivor before bringing them out.

Remarkable successes – and tough choices

The IRO has had remarkable success in Türkiye. Its team has managed to help find and rescue nine people in Antakya. 

But the team members also had to make some tough choices. 

"If you can't really locate the victim and say 'Okay, I need 12 hours, 14 hours, 15 hours, 20 hours to get access to the victim' – and then in the building right opposite or right beside there are three victims where I have access within a few hours... to say 'No, we won't work on that (earlier) victim, we move to the other victim' – that's one of the most difficult decisions you have to take," says Bock.

Organizations like the IRO cannot just rush into a disaster zone. 

They are mostly brought in through official channels, co-ordinating with authorities in the European Union and United Nations. Bock says co-operation with the governments and rescue agencies of affected countries is key. 

"At one level, most forget it was a disaster," says Bock, who has also joined previous rescue operations in Türkiye, Iran and Sri Lanka. 

"In the beginning, you know, the mayor is under the rubble. The police chief is under the rubble. The fire chief is under the rubble. So the local structures won't function at all," he says. 

"But Türkiye is especially well-prepared for disasters like that. They know that they are this quake-prone country and they have the structure to build up local emergency management together with the international level."

The death toll in Türkiye now stands at 38,044, officials said on Friday. But this number is expected to shoot up given some 264,000 apartments were lost in the quake and many people are still unaccounted for.

In neighboring Syria, already shattered by more than a decade of civil war, authorities have reported more than 5,800 deaths. The toll has not changed for days.

A new UN aid convoy and another convoy from charities entered northern Syria on Saturday, Al Jazeera has reported, citing local authorities.

Three people, including one child, were pulled out alive on Saturday from the rubble of an apartment building in Hatay, Türkiye, 296 hours after last week's earthquakes, Anadolu Agency has reported.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 39,672, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Friday.

The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria has reached more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid, with many survivors left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures. Rescues are now few and far between.

The focus has shifted to supporting survivors and with much of the region's sanitation infrastructure damaged or rendered inoperable by the earthquakes, health authorities face a daunting task in trying to ensure that people now remain disease-free.

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"The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has been mobilizing the biggest operation of emergency medical teams in its history," Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, told CGTN. "Currently, there are more than 25 emergency medical teams on the ground, which we are coordinating."

He said that the search and rescue mission remains important as there are buildings with cracks which are still collapsing, "but gradually [we're] moving towards public health assessments and addressing the primary healthcare needs of the population."

He acknowledged that, like in any emergency, the mental health needs will be huge. 

The WHO said earlier in the week it is particularly concerned about the welfare of people in northwestern Syria, a rebel-held region with little access to aid. It asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to open more border crossing points with Turkiye to allow aid to get through.

"To have a sustained humanitarian corridor into northwest Syria is the overarching priority, and we're very grateful that as of today, not only Bab al-Hawa is open, but three cross-border points [are also open]," said Kluge.

"Also, the different parties have agreed to have cross-line operations, but it's of a scale that needs to be really bigger because this is something that no country can manage on its own."

He recognized that Türkiye has a lot of expertise and highlighted how the organization has been collaborating with the country on emergency preparedness and response. 

"Water and sanitation facilities have been damaged in northwest Syria – a lot above the ground has collapsed. So disease control is very important and [we must] have strong surveillance on any potential outbreaks," warned the WHO official.

Explaining the organization's priorities to facilitate survivors' rehabilitation, Kluge said providing shelter remains on top, noting that "people need heating, it's still cold outside." 

He added the medium-term focus will be on controlling the spread of infectious diseases and providing mental health support during the rehabilitation process.

With the main focus of earthquake relief efforts turning from finding those trapped to helping the survivors, there is a huge need for one of humankind's primary needs – shelter.   

CGTN correspondent Natalie Carney has seen the extensive preparations made in Hatay, Türkiye.  

"Now that rescue efforts are moving on to recovery and humanitarian efforts, we're seeing a lot more tent areas like this being set up for those that did survive the quake but lost everything," Carney says.

Turkish factories in Kızılay in Ankara and Erzincan are working day and night to produce enough tents for the earthquake zone. The Red Crescent needs all the tents those factories can produce as 550 workers erect hundreds of tents every day for the unprecedented relief effort.

"There is a massive drive going on to erect these tents all across the country –upwards of 500 a day – in an effort to get people out of their cars, off the streets and into somewhere that at least can provide them a place to rest their head that is safe for the next little while until their lives can be rebuilt," explains Carney.

The tents are 16.5 square meters and are double-layered to withstand the winter conditions. The floor and ceiling are made of water-repellent PVC material and felt is used in the inner layer. 

Inside each tent there are two sections – a parent area and a children's area. The layout includes a kitchen which is suitable for setting up a stove at the entrance of the tents. It's a layout familiar to Carney.

"This is the exact same setup we've seen here in southern Türkiye for the exodus of Syrians that crossed the border into Türkiye during the height of the civil war in that country," she says. 

"Now, of course, this isn't being used as a permanent situation for the victims of the earthquake here in Türkiye, but at least it is some place for these people to find a space that is safe and collect themselves as they try to rebuild their lives."

Additionally, the Red Crescent is coordinating the mammoth task of feeding the survivors. Along with the nutrition group consisting of AFAD, MSB, Türkiye's Gendarmerie and other non-governmental organizations, a total of 334 mobile kitchens, 86 catering vehicles, 33 mobile ovens and 252 service vehicles have been sent to the region. 

In the disaster area, 16,208,638 hot meals, 3,648,010 soups, 13,295,356 bottles of water, 18,909,911 loaves of bread, 9,506,375 treats and 1,787,341 beverages are being distributed. Many more will follow as relief workers face a huge humanitarian disaster.

Two people were rescued from the rubble in Hatay province 261 hours after massive earthquakes shook southern Türkiye, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.

Two Chinese search and rescue teams departed Türkiye as their mission to save earthquake survivors came to a close. Before their departure, they were greeted by officials from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The team covered an area of 700,000 square meters and completed search missions on 87 buildings.

A young girl was miraculously pulled alive from the rubble 248 hours after the earthquakes in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday. 

The Turkish authorities have arrested 21 people who allegedly made provocative online posts related to the earthquakes, local media reported on Thursday, adding that judicial proceedings have been initiated.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 36,187, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Thursday.

A magnitude-4.4 earthquake hit Malatya Province, Türkiye on Thursday, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

Türkiye said it would demolish buildings heavily damaged by a huge earthquake last week and swiftly start a mammoth reconstruction effort, with thousands of families struggling to survive amid the rubble and freezing conditions.

Rescuers, who flew in to save people trapped in the debris, were starting to pack up, although one woman was pulled out of a collapsed building on Wednesday after being buried for 222 hours.

In neighboring Syria's opposition-held northwest, already suffering from more than a decade of bombardment, the earthquake left many fending for themselves amid the rubble, with aid slowed by the complex politics of humanitarian assistance there.

The combined death toll in the two countries has climbed over to over 41,000, and millions are in need over humanitarian aid, with many survivors having been left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures. Rescues are now few and far between.

In Türkiye's southern Hatay province, half of the buildings have either collapsed, been heavily damaged, or need to be demolished quickly, the government said.

"We will quickly demolish what needs to be demolished and build safe houses," Türkiye's Environment and Urbanisation Minister Murat Kurum tweeted.

The government encouraged people to go back home, if and when authorities have deemed their building safe, "in order to start getting back to normal," Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy told a news conference in Malatya, some 160 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.

Syrians: 'Get us out!' 

Across the border, in Syria, relief efforts have been hampered by the U.S. sanctions and a civil war.

Though a single border crossing from Türkiye to Syria was open after the quake, the UN did not send aid through for days, citing logistical issues.

On Tuesday, eight days after the quake, a second border crossing for aid delivery was opened after Syrian President Bashar al Assad gave his assent, marking a shift for Damascus which has long opposed cross-border aid deliveries to the rebel enclave.

But the trucks included none of the heavy equipment and machines that rescuers say they need to remove rubble faster – and that could have helped with reconstruction.

Raed Saleh, who heads the 'White Helmets' rescue force operating in opposition-held areas, said more lives could have been saved in Syria if the outside world had acted faster.

In Idlib, Walid Ibrahim lost more than two dozen of his family members – among them his brother, his cousin, and all their children.

"We were removing rock after rock and finding nothing underneath. People were under the concrete screaming, 'Get us out! Get us out!' But we'd come up with empty hands," he said. "Your hands alone aren't enough."

Further to the north, in Jandaris, rescuers said they had not found anyone alive under the rubble since February 9 but continued to search. Residents said there were still people trapped.

Hassan Mohamed, a civil defense volunteer, said that while efforts to find survivors in the most badly hit areas in northwest Syria had finished, rescue workers were still deploying in response to reports of people missing. "We are also going to areas where there has been no internet," he said.

(With input from Reuters)

Two brothers cheerfully waved at cameras after spending 198 hours trapped under the rubble in Türkiye's deadly earthquake on February 14. The brothers, Muhammed Enes Yeninar, 17, and Baki Yeninar, 21, were pulled alive from the ruins nine days after the two quakes struck on February 6. Rescuers wrapped Muhammed in a thermal blanket as he was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance, along with his brother. Their health condition was unclear at the time.

When two massive, deadly earthquakes hit southeastern Türkiye on February 5 – thousands of buildings collapsed, leaving over a million people homeless. Many fled to neighboring cities for safety — where they were welcomed with open doors and hearts.

The Syrian government says parts of an ancient citadel in the northern city of Aleppo were damaged in this month's earthquakes. It has begun assessing the damage and will seek international support for the repairs.

Rescuers pull out a woman who was rescued 179 hours after a major earthquake, on February 13. It shows the woman trapped on her side in an impossibly-tight gap beneath the wreckage of an apartment block in Türkiye. It looks as if tons of concrete could come crashing down on top of her at any moment. Rescue workers can be seen carefully drilling through a wall so they can get into the gap and put the woman on a stretcher. The video was obtained from the Gendarmerie General Command, which described the rescue as a "miracle.

The disaster relief supplies sent by the Chinese government to earthquake-stricken Syria arrived at Damascus International Airport on Wednesday. The supplies include 30,000 first-aid kits, 10,000 padded-jackets, 300 tents, 20,000 blankets and a host of other emergency medical equipment such as ventilators, anesthesia machines, oxygen generators and LED surgical lights. 

Video courtesy of CGTN's reporter Zheng Yibing

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments and civil society to work together to ensure cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid between Türkiye and Syria and within Syria itself.

WHO's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge called the earthquakes "the worst natural disaster" in the region in a century, and emphasized the importance of all parties cooperating on aid delivery.

"The needs are huge, increasing by the hour. Some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance," said Kluge during a press conference on Tuesday.

Türkiye has suffered cataclysmic casualties, Kluge underlined, with more than 31,000 deaths and 100,000 people injured due to the earthquakes. An additional one million people are estimated to have lost their homes, and are currently living in temporary shelters.

Meanwhile, almost 5,000 people have died in northwest Syria across the border, and the death toll is expected to rise.

The WHO also warned that there were growing concerns over health risks related to cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases. Meanwhile, with 80,000 people currently hospitalized, the Turkish health system is under enormous strain.

The WHO has launched an appeal for $43 million to help with the earthquake response, and Kluge said this amount was likely to double in the coming days due to the huge scale of need.

According to Kluge, the funds would be used to assist the most vulnerable by providing trauma care, essential medicines, and mental and psychosocial support. The funds would also be used to ensure the continuity of routine health services.

On the same day, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched an appeal for $397 million to help earthquake victims in Syria, adding that the world body was in the "final stages" of a similar appeal for Türkiye.

Guterres called on member states to "fully fund this effort without delay and help the millions of children, women and men whose lives have been upended by this generational disaster."

(With input from agencies)

Aid efforts following a massive earthquake that razed southern Türkiye and northern Syria are moving on to humanitarian relief. The search and rescue phase is coming to an end, according to Rolf M. Bakken, a humanitarian and assessment staff member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination, when he spoke with CGTN reporter Cen Ziyuan.

The southern Turkish province of Osmaniye, near the epicenter of the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, has been hit hard by the earthquake, with a large number of buildings either completely collapsed or severely damaged, and a large number of victims needing to be resettled. The Osmaniye Station has become a temporary resettlement site and our reporter visited the site on Tuesday.

Over 110 arrest warrants have been issued by Turkish officials over collapsed buildings throughout the country's hardest-hit earthquake zones.

Authorities say sub-standard construction, illegal modifications, and other building mismanagement may have caused hundreds of structures to fall during the quakes in early February.

CGTN's Shamim Chowdhury has more from Turkiye.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that last week's powerful earthquakes were "as big as atomic bombs" and have killed 35,418 in the country's southern region.

Erdogan also said that hundreds of thousands of buildings were uninhabitable across southern Türkiye, adding "any country would face issues we did during such a disaster."

But he did concede that building regulation needs revising, saying "collapsed buildings reminded the government of the need for stricter construction rules" in a televised speech, adding that his government would continue work until the last person was rescued from the ruins in the quake-hit area.

Seven survivors were pulled from the rubble in Türkiye on Tuesday, more than a week after two devastating earthquakes, as the focus of the aid effort shifted to helping people now struggling without food or shelter in near-freezing winter conditions. 

The combined death toll in Türkiye and neighboring Syria has continued to mount, exceeding 37,000 on Tuesday. 

The seven rescued on Tuesday included two brothers, aged 17 and 21, who were pulled from an apartment block in Kahramanmaras province, and a woman rescued from a destroyed building in the southern Turkish city of Antakya.

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But the UN said the rescue phase was coming to a close, while the White Helmets rescue team in Syria announced its search for survivors was about to end in the northwest of Syria.

Russia also said it was bringing its search and rescue work to a close and preparing to withdraw from the disaster zone, as aid workers considered how to look after the many survivors who have been left homeless.

"The needs are huge, increasing by the hour," said Hans Henri P. Kluge, the World Health Organizations's director for Europe. "Some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance."

"There are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases – with vulnerable people especially at risk."

"People are suffering a lot. We applied to receive tent, aid or something but until now we didn't receive anything," said Hassan Saimoua, a refugee staying with his family in a playground in Türkiye's southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Many Syrians had found refuge in Gaziantep from the war at home, but were left homeless by the quake and forced to erect makeshift homes outdoors.

There were also reports of more and more patients coming into Turkish and Syrian hospitals, not just with physical injuries, but baring the psychological impact of the quake. 

"Now more of the patients are coming with post-traumatic stress disorder, following all the shock that they've gone through during the earthquake," said Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari, who has been working at a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun.

UN aid drive

Meanwhile, a first convoy of UN aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Türkiye via the newly-opened Bab al-Salam crossing.

The delivery comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Monday to allow UN aid to enter from Türkiye via two more border crossings – a change in approach from Damascus, which has long opposed aid deliveries to the rebel-held areas directly via Türkiye.

Nearly nine million people in Syria were impacted by the earthquake, the UN said, as it launched a $400 million funding appeal to help the situation there.

"The human suffering from this epic natural disaster should not be made even worse by manmade obstacles -- access, funding, supplies," said UN chief Antonio Guterres from the international body's headquarters in New York.

"Aid must get through from all sides, to all sides, through all routes – without any restrictions."

Activists and emergency teams in Syria's northwest have criticized the UN's response in rebel-held areas, contrasting it with the aid delivered to government-controlled areas. 

Erdogan, who faces an election scheduled for June, has acknowledged problems in his country's initial response, but said the situation was now under control.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 31,974, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Tuesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Tuesday that more than 8,000 people have thus far been pulled out alive from under the rubble since last week's quakes.

Israeli airlines will resume direct flights to Türkiye as an indication of the continued improvement in bilateral relations, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Tuesday, predicting a 25% increase in tourism this year.

The first such flight will depart on Thursday, Cohen told reporters during what he described as a solidarity visit to Türkiye, which credited Israel for sending relief delegations after last week's earthquake.

Two people have been rescued from the rubble 198 hours after the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday. 

Drone footage shot by CGTN's reporter Evangelo Sipsas shows the widespread and utter devastation of the city of Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, the region hardest hit by the worst earthquake in Türkiye in nearly a century. Locals say that the earthquake wiped out not only a city, but also a civilization as many historical buildings in the ancient city have been destroyed in its wake.

Residents of China's Macao Special Administration Region (SAR) are donating relief supplies through international charity organizations to help victims of earthquakes. According to a volunteer at the collection point, brand new supplies will be delivered to the Consulate General of Türkiye in Hong Kong, while second-hand items will be sanitized and shipped to the affected regions after finding logistics sponsors. Meanwhile, Caritas Macao has raised nearly 400,000 Macao Patacas (about $50,000) in cash donations from individuals, enterprises, schools and churches.

The United Nations' top aid chief Martin Griffiths is visiting the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo. He says the rescue phase in Syria is "coming to a close", with urgency now switching to the care of survivors.

China is stepping up its humanitarian aid to Syria and the supplies financed by the Chinese government will be shipped to Syria on February 14. The shipments include 30,000 first-aid kits, 20,000 blankets, 10,000 cotton-padded jackets, 300 tents, ventilators, anesthesia machines, oxygen generators and other materials. China has been actively providing support and assistance to Türkiye and Syria since the massive earthquakes hit the two countries. The first batches of relief supplies from China arrived in Istanbul on Feb. 11 and 12. Also, the first shipment of medical supplies from the Red Cross Society of China to Syria has arrived in Damascus. At the same time, the food aid project by the Chinese government is accelerating, with 220 tons of wheat already on its way to Syria and a further 3,000 tons of rice and wheat to be shipped in batches this month.

A search and rescue team from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) succeeded in pulling a woman out of debris in Türkiye's Antakya City on Monday, the eighth day after the deadly earthquakes. This is the fourth survivor rescued by the HKSAR team in Türkiye.

The HKSAR government sent a team of 59 members, including officials from various departments such as security, fire services, immigration and health, to quake-hit Türkiye on Wednesday.

A chartered plane carrying the Chinese government's aid to Syria departed from Nanjing on Tuesday morning.

The supplies include about 30,000 first aid kits, 10,000 cotton clothes, 300 cotton tents, 20,000 blankets, 70,000 adult pull-up pants and emergency medical equipment and supplies such as ventilators, anesthesia machines, oxygen machines and LED shadowless surgical light.

Turkish security teams have arrested at least 97 suspects for allegedly looting quake-hit properties, Anadolu Agency reported Tuesday.

The suspects have been arrested in over 232 separate incidents across 11 provinces and 22 others were sentenced to judicial control injunctions, the report added citing sources.

Amid reports of looting and other crimes, President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday has vowed to take firm action against those involved.

At least 31,643 people were killed and over 80,000 others injured in Türkiye after last week's strong earthquakes which also left up to $84.1 billion economic losses for the country. 

The second batch of humanitarian supplies from the Red Cross Society of China arrived on Monday in Syria. CGTN reporter Zheng Yibing reports.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.

See what the city of Antakya, Türkiye looks like after the devastating 7.8 earthquake and aftershocks hit it on Feb. 6. The death toll has now surpassed 35, 000. 

CGTN's Shamim Chowdry shows us the extent of the the damage.

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CGTN's Natalie Carney was in Erzin, Türkiye interviewing residents when an aftershock from last week's earthquake was felt. See what happened.

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As the search efforts continue in Turkiye and Syria following the deadly earthquakes, Mexico has sent the country’s top earthquake-response team and its search-and-rescue dogs to save lives. 

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Rescuers in Türkiye pulled a handful of people alive from collapsed buildings on Monday and were digging to reach a grandmother, mother and daughter from a single family, a week after the country's worst earthquake in modern history.

Hopes of finding many more survivors were fading as the combined death toll in Türkiye and neighboring Syria  climbed above 37,000 from the 7.8 magnitude quake. In the shattered Syrian city of Aleppo, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said the rescue phase was "coming to a close," with the focus switching to shelter, food and schooling.

As a Polish team said they would head home on Wednesday, rescuers in Turkish cities cheered when people were freed from seven days under the rubble. But in many places, the grief was still overwhelming as more bodies were found and relatives blamed the government for a slow response.

In the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman, a young girl named Miray was recovered alive and a 35-year-old woman was also rescued, officials said.

Another woman was pulled from under crumbled masonry and twisted steel rods in Antakya and was applauded as she was placed into an ambulance, a video shared online by Istanbul's mayor showed. Broadcaster Haberturk reported another woman and two children were also rescued in Antakya.

Three generations trapped

In one dramatic rescue attempt in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, rescuers said they had contact with a grandmother, mother and baby trapped in a room in the remains of three-storey building.

Rescuers were digging a second tunnel to reach them, after a first route was blocked.

"I have a very strong feeling we are going to get them," said Burcu Baldauf, head of the Turkish voluntary healthcare team. "It's already a miracle. After seven days, they are there with no water, no food and in good condition."

On the same street, emergency workers covered a body in a black bag. "This is your brother," one grieving woman said, with another wailing. "No, no."

The Turkish toll now exceeds the 31,643 killed in a quake in 1939, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said, making it the worst quake in Türkiye's modern history.

The total death toll in Syria, a nation ravaged by more than a decade of civil war, has reached 5,714, including those who died in a rebel enclave and government-held areas.

It is the sixth most deadly natural disaster this century, behind the 2005 tremor that killed at least 73,000 in Pakistan.

Türkiye faces a bill of up to $84.1 billion, a business group said.

WATCH: China's Blue Sky Rescue team continue effort to find survivors

An election year in Türkiye

"People are not dead because of the earthquake, they are dead because of precautions that weren't taken earlier," said Said Qudsi, who traveled from quake-hit Kahramanmaras to Istanbul and buried his uncle, aunt and their two sons, while their two daughters were still missing.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who faces an election scheduled for June that is expected to be the toughest of his two decades in power, acknowledged problems in the initial response but said the situation was now under control.

Residents and aid workers from several Turkish cities complained of worsening security in the devastated areas, while Turkish authorities have been cracking down on social media accounts that they said had "provocative" posts that spread fear and panic.

Police said they detained 56 people on Monday.

Frustration in Syria

The International Monetary Fund called for an international effort to help Syria, where the rebel-held northwest has received little aid. Only one crossing from Türkiye into Syria is now open for U.N. aid, although the United Nations says it hopes to open two more.

Aid from government-held regions to areas controlled by hardline opposition groups has been held up. A source from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group which controls much of the region, told Reuters the group would not let in shipments from government-held areas and aid would come from Türkiye.

There was growing frustration among aid workers and civilians in Syria's rebel-held areas.

"We called from the early days of the catastrophe on the U.N. to intervene immediately," the head of the Türkiye-backed opposition coalition Salem al Muslet said. "The U.N. wants to exonerate itself from letting down the liberated areas."

Rescuers in Türkiye pulled out several survivors alive from collapsed buildings on Monday and are digging to reach a grandmother, mother and daughter from a single family, a week after the country's worst earthquake in modern history.

With hopes of finding many more survivors in the rubble fast fading, the combined official death toll in Türkiye and neighbouring Syria from last Monday's quakes rose to nearly 36,000 and looks set to keep increasing.

The rescue phase is "coming to a close", with urgency now switching to providing shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said during a visit to Aleppo in northern Syria on Monday.

Some 176 hours after the first earthquake, a woman named Serap Donmez on Monday was pulled out alive from a collapsed apartment block in the southern Turkish city of Antakya  by search and rescue teams from Türkiye and Oman, state broadcaster TRT reported.

Another woman was rescued in southern Gaziantep province a few hours earlier CNN Turk reported. A 35-year-old was rescued from the rubble of a building in Adiyaman city, officials said.

Rescue workers in Kahramanmaras said they had contact with a grandmother, mother and baby trapped in one room in a three-storey building, with a fourth person possibly in another room. They said they were trying to break a wall to reach the survivors but a column was delaying them.

The Chinese rescue team pulled out a man from the ruins of a collapsed building in Antakya on Sunday afternoon more than 150 hours since the first earthquake.

The deadliest quake in Türkiye since 1939 has killed 31,643 people there, Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said. More than 4,300 people were reported dead and 7,600 injured in northwest Syria as of Sunday, said a UN agency.

The quake is now the sixth most deadly natural disaster this century, behind the 2005 tremor that killed at least 73,000 in Pakistan.

Syria aid

In Syria, the disaster hit hardest in the rebel-held northwest. The region has received little aid compared with government-held areas.

"What is the most striking here, is even in Aleppo, which has suffered so much these many years, this moment, that moment... was about the worst that these people have experienced," Griffiths said.

The people of the region have been "failed," he said in an earlier Twitter post.

There is currently only a single crossing open on the Türkiye-Syria border for UN aid supplies. Griffiths said that the UN would have aid moving from government-held regions in Syria to the rebel-held northwest.

Security concerns

Residents and aid workers from several Turkish cities have cited worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being robbed.

In a central district of Antakya, business owners emptied their shops on Sunday to prevent merchandise from being stolen by looters.

Amid concerns about hygiene and the spread of infection in the region, Türkiye's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at the weekend that rabies and tetanus vaccine had been sent to the quake zone and that mobile pharmacies had started to operate there.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the government will deal firmly with looters.

Türkiye said on Sunday about 80,000 people were in hospital, and more than one million in temporary shelters.

Read more:

Türkiye-Syria quakes: Türkiye vows probe over collapsed buildings

(With input from agencies)

The year 2023 marks the 60th anniversary since China sent its first medical team abroad.

Chinese medical teams are working at 115 sites in 56 countries around the world, of which nearly half are in remote areas with harsh conditions. 

On Thursday, in a letter replying to the 19th Chinese medical team dispatched to the Central African Republic, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged the 11 members of the team to benefit local people with their medical proficiency and medical ethics so as to make greater contributions to the building of a global community of health for all.

The team, which set off on June 11, 2022, to carry out medical aid for 18 months, had written to Xi to report on how they had served local people there. 

The Chinese people love peace and cherish lives, which is vividly illustrated by their efforts in international medical assistance, Xi said in the letter. 

'A global community of health for all'

In March 2020, President Xi first proposed the concept of building a global community of health for all, setting the tone of China's foreign medical aid in the new era.

Against the backdrop of uneven development in the developing world and threats from health crises, some countries and regions short of medical resources are in need of assistance and rescue from the international community. 

Over the past six decades, from the fight against the Ebola virus and COVID-19 to the prevention and control of yellow fever, plague, and Zika, Chinese medical teams have taken active actions to help local people in recipient countries to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment and public health management.

China has sent medical teams consisting of 30,000 members to 76 countries and regions across five continents – Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, providing 290 million diagnoses and treatments for local people.

On February 8, Tanzania's Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi received China's 32nd medical team to Zanzibar at the Zanzibar State House, according to the Chinese Consulate General in Zanzibar.

Mwinyi affirmed the contributions the 32nd Chinese medical team has made in Zanzibar in four months – including treating patients and saving lives in the hospitals, carrying out free clinics in remote areas, providing medicines and equipment assistance, bringing advanced laparoscopic and endoscopic minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment technologies, and training local medical staff.

Zhao Xiaojun, leader of the medical team, said that they will carry forward the spirit of the Chinese medical team and continue to improve the health and well-being of the Zanzibar people, and contribute to China-Zanzibar friendship.

The first oil tanker since the earthquakes sailed from Turkish Ceyhan port loaded with Azeri crude, Reuters reported on Monday.

The second batch of humanitarian supplies from the Red Cross Society of China arrived in earthquake-hit Syria on Monday.

The aid includes cotton tents, jackets and medical supplies which will meet the needs of more than 10,000 people in earthquake-affected areas. 

Editor's note: This is a letter from  Duygu Cagla Bayram, an Ankara-based India specialist, sharing his thoughts about the earthquakes in Türkiye.

The sun did not rise for Türkiye on February 6, Monday. The good people of Türkiye woke up to a very dark winter morning, having to overcome a massive natural disaster. What the country has experienced on Monday was the biggest natural disaster in the last century after the 1939 earthquake.

Just with and interval of nine hours, two massive independent earthquakes followed by hundreds of aftershocks (three of them larger than magnitude 6) with the epicenter of Kahramanmaras Province rattled southern Türkiye. The Frist magnitude-7.8 quake struck at 04:17 am while people were asleep. The second one, second magnitude-7.8 quake, occurred at 13:24 pm, which was nearby. It's so rare in world geology history that the two earthquakes occurred in such close proximity and time.

Türkiye declared seven days of mourning, as well as a state of emergency for three months in 10 provinces.

The two big independent earthquakes that swept through Türkiye's 10 southern provinces were also felt in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot Administration and Israel. As Turkish risk experts said the quake was highly anticipated but this much destruction was never predicted. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye is "facing one of biggest disasters not only in its history but also in world."

Türkiye sits atop the Anatolian tectonic plate, which is placed right in the middle of the Eurasian and African plates; lies on two major fault lines: The North Anatolian Fault covers all the way from west to east of the country and the East Anatolian Fault rests in the country's southeastern region.

The 7.8 magnitude 1939 quake, which hit the southeastern part of Türkiye, Erzincan province, killed nearly 33,000 people, wounding over 100,000. The 7.6 magnitude 1999 Golcuk earthquake. which struck the northwestern part of the country, killed about 17,000 people. Although it's creepy to predict the damage of this disaster, the estimates indicate that things could be worse than the Golcuk quake that had 20,000 death toll.

Agence France-Presse reported that 29,605 people had died in Türkiye on February 12. Meanwhile, aftershocks keep jolting the southern part of the country. And the very cold, rainy and snowy weather conditions, as well as the fast ticking of the clock, complicate the search and rescue operations.

Yes, Türkiye has long history of earthquakes, while natural disasters always bring pain and misery, which leave permanently bitter marks on generations. It will never be forgotten that an 8-years-old girl's silent and desperate cry by telling a rescue personnel right after getting pulled from the rubble that "my mother could not get out of the rubble, she was holding my hand but then she let go of my hand and just become quite," for her mother who was still trapped under the rubble.

But despite all, the exemplary unity, togetherness and solidarity of the Turkish people are once again being witnessed, which raise hopes. And the Turkish government is mobilizing its resources, and working shoulder to shoulder with the Turkish military and countrywide volunteer groups, alongside many countries' search and rescue missions who have shown solidarity with Türkiye.

Türkiye has a rich and proud history as they had often stood at the forefront of helping other countries amid challenging times. And now we feel grateful for the power of solidarity. Of course, we will heal our wounds, but the tragedy will be engraved in our memories and hearts.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion section.)

The Türkiye and Syria earthquake's rescue phase is 'coming to a close,' with urgency now switching to providing shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said during a visit to Aleppo in northern Syria on Monday.

The UN official also mentioned that the UN would have aid moving from government-held regions in Syria to the rebel-held northwest of the country.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6 has risen to 31,643, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Monday.

More than 4,300 people have been reported dead, and 7,600 others were injured in northwest Syria from the quakes as of February 12, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on Monday.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) sent its second batch of humanitarian supplies to Syria on Monday to help meet the needs of more than 10,000 people in earthquake-affected areas. 

The Chinese rescue team pulled a man from the ruins of a collapsed building in the southern Turkish city of Antakya on Sunday afternoon. It has been more than 150 hours since the earthquakes occurred on Monday.

Legal actions have been taken against 134 people who were involved in the development of the buildings that collapsed in this week's earthquakes, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday. Three arrests were made.

The World Health Organization(WHO) is launching a flash appeal for $42.79 million for the immediate response in Türkiye and Syria, with 26 million people affected by the earthquake, WHO said on Sunday.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 29,605, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said.

It takes the total figure from both Türkiye and Syria, which is also affected by Monday's earthquakes, to over 33,000. 

According to the latest data from the Syrian health authority and the rebel-held area, at least 3,575 deaths in Syria have been confirmed so far.

More disaster relief supplies from the Chinese government to Türkiye, which include tents and blankets, arrived at Istanbul International Airport on Sunday. 

Two flights carrying the supplies landed in Türkiye on Sunday morning and afternoon. 

On Saturday, another flight with Chinese supplies also touched down in Istanbul. 

So far, the Chinese government's first batch of relief supplies has arrived in Türkiye.

United Nations (UN) relief chief Martin Griffiths said Sunday he applauded the determination and courage of the UN teams working across the earthquake disaster zone, but also mentioned that they have failed the people in northwest Syria so far.

"My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That's my focus now," he tweeted.

Courts will be suspended for two months in the earthquake-hit region in Türkiye due to the repercussions of the earthquakes, Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag said Sunday.

Chinese rescuers on Saturday helped pull a man alive from under the rubble in earthquake-hit Hatay Province in southern Türkiye. The team was searching the surrounding area where a survivor had been found a day earlier and detected signals. They provided technical support to a local team, helping rescue the man at 7:40 p.m. local time.

A five-year-old girl and her younger brother are being cared for at a Syrian hospital after surviving the catastrophic earthquake earlier the week. Jinan al-Sirri and her 11-month-old brother, Abdo, lost their parents and other siblings when the building they were in collapsed in Monday's quake. They were trapped under the rubble for two days before being rescued, and both suffered injuries. The children's uncle and grandfather have stepped in to take care of them.

Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors from toppled buildings in Türkiye several days after the quake hit. The death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Türkiye and Syria has so far surpassed 28,000. However, rescue workers continue to search for survivors.

China offered an array of rescue teams and vital items to Türkiye and Syria. The first batch of relief supplies from the Chinese government arrived at Istanbul International Airport on Saturday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the West's humanitarian position remains hypocritical and unchanged, despite the earthquakes or any other natural disasters. He made the accusation while visiting quake survivors in the city of Latakia. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called the U.S.' temporary exemption of unilateral sanctions on the country a sham and hypocritical.

Disaster relief efforts continue as the death toll from Monday's earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria passes 28,000. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras before sunrise on Monday. It was followed by another strong quake in the afternoon and a series of aftershocks.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths visited Kahramanmaras in Türkiye on Saturday and said that the Türkiye-Syria earthquake was the region's "worst event" in a century. While meeting families left homeless by the disaster, he said the UN will launch appeals for Türkiye and Syria to get more support in the aftermath of the quake.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake tore through Türkiye and Syria on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, claiming the lives of more than 28,000 people as of Sunday afternoon. Local and international search and rescue teams have been working around the clock to pull more from the rubble.

The devastating temblor damaged the old city of Aleppo in Syria and the fortress in the city of Diyarbakir in Türkiye, both of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The UN body says at least three more World Heritage Sites not far from the epicenter could also be affected, including the Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe in Sanliurfa province, the Nemrut Dağ site, and Tell of Arslantepe outside Malatya.

Aleppo City served as a prewar commercial hub in Syria and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. It has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013 due to the Syrian civil war. "Significant damage has been noted in the citadel. The western tower of the old city wall has collapsed and several buildings in the souks have been weakened," UNESCO reported.

Diyarbakir Fortress and the adjacent Hevsel Gardens have collapsed in Türkiye. Both were named World Heritage Sites in 2015. The fortifications of this historic fortress are almost the widest and longest complete defensive walls in the world, after only the Great Wall of China.

UNESCO is working on a precise inventory of the damaged archaeological sites to secure them and the thousands of years of history they represent, as they have served as iconic tourist attractions for decades. "Our organization will provide assistance within its mandate," said UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay.

Greece's foreign minister arrived in Türkiye on Sunday in a show of support after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake seven days ago, the ministry said, despite a longstanding rivalry between the two NATO countries. 

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was met by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to footage on state-run ERT TV, before they boarded helicopters to quake-hit regions. 

His arrival marks the first visit by a European minister to Türkiye since the earthquake. 

Chinese enterprises operating in Türkiye are racing against time to organize rescue teams and deploy heavy-duty machinery to earthquake-hit areas.

The first batch of rescue teams and five heavy excavators sent by one firm, Zoomlion Heavy Industry, arrived in Hatay province on February 7 to join local search and aid teams. 

The earthquake has killed more than 20,000 people in Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on February 11.

Iskenderun, located on the Mediterranean coast and Türkiye's second-largest port, caught fire and partially collapsed as a result of the recent earthquakes in the country.

The fire was extinguished on February 11, but the remedial and cleaning work already underway will take time to complete.

The disaster may cost insurers hundreds of millions of dollars, which would be the highest losses since the Beirut port in Lebanon exploded in 2020.

Chinese citizen in Türkiye Da Hu has put up a team of volunteers to assist those who suffered from the deadly earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria. "Everyone has been affected, so we need to work together to overcome hardship," he said.

China's rescue team has saved four people and discovered five bodies while surveying 25 collapsed buildings as of midday on Saturday.

China also delivered its first supplies to Türkiye for earthquake relief on Saturday morning, according to the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

On Friday, the Chinese rescue team pulled out a woman from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Türkiye.

The team was called to the scene after their Turkish counterparts discovered signs of life while clearing a heap of building ruins. During the operation, the team squeezed a flexible endoscope camera through small gaps in rubble to survey the condition beneath and worked with Turkish rescuers to demolish the surface of buried areas. The operation took three hours to complete.

The woman has been transferred to safety over 96 hours after a devastating earthquake jolted Türkiye and Syria. She is the fourth survivor saved by Chinese rescuers.

Overseas Chinese and Turks who speak Chinese join in

For rescuers from countries outside of Türkiye, the language barrier and unclear on-site situation could be the primary challenges. The overseas Chinese in Türkiye and Turkish people who speak Chinese are applying to volunteer to cooperate with Chinese rescue workers on site.

"The Chinese rescuers arrived successively as our Chinese volunteers in Türkiye have joined to assist, and Turkish volunteers are standing by," said Li Xintong, vice president of the Chinese women's association in Türkiye.

She said the Chinese in Türkiye acted swiftly to support the disaster relief effort.

"We have helped raise 60 tents, 52 sleeping bags, 430 blankets, over 20 winter coats and a lot of food and hygiene products," said Wang Xinghua, president of an overseas Chinese association in Izmir, Türkiye. 

According to Wang, the association has raised over 100,000 yuan ($14,696), and the donation has been sent to the local government in Türkiye.

One of the century's worst disasters

Monday's magnitude-7.8 quake, with several powerful aftershocks across Türkiye and Syria, is the world's seventh deadliest natural disaster this century. Its death toll nears 26,000 and looks set to rise far higher.

So far, the death toll inside Türkiye stands at 22,327, the country's deadliest earthquake since 1939. Meanwhile, more than 3,500 have died in Syria, where tolls have not been updated since Friday.

In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicenter in Türkiye, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid the smashed concrete mounds of fallen houses and apartment blocks. But rescuers burrowed between concrete slabs of a building to reach a five-year-old girl still alive, lifting her on a stretcher, wrapped in foil, and chanting, "God is greatest."

CGTN Stringer Neyran Elden visited the area on Friday and found many people there still needed tents, heaters, food, and other living necessities six days after the earthquake due to the enormous scale of the disaster and traffic blockage. Also, with temperatures reaching -10 degrees Celsius at night, residents in Pazarcik have had to sleep in their cars and burn wood gathered from the rubble to keep warm. 

Only a few people were brought out alive on Saturday.

Meanwhile, people fear disease, with basic infrastructure destroyed.

"If people don't die here under the rubble, they'll die from injuries; if not, they will die from infection. There is no toilet here. It is a big problem," a rescue worker named Gizem said.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as the worst event in 100 years in the region. He praised Türkiye's response, saying it was his experience that people in disaster zones were always disappointed early in relief efforts.

He predicted the death toll would at least double.

(With input from agencies)

The death toll in Türkiye and Syria from massive earthquakes is "likely more than double" from its current level of more than 28,000, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told Sky News during a visit to quake-stricken Adana in southern Türkiye on Saturday.

The devastating earthquakes that shook southern Türkiye and northern Syria were the "worst event" to hit the region in a century, a senior official from the United Nations said on Saturday.

"What happened here on Monday, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region," Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.

More than 100 countries have sent emergency response teams to Türkiye. But "we're going to need more than that," Griffiths said.

He said the UN would launch the appeal to raise money for agencies to come and help the people who've been affected.

"We have a clear plan tomorrow (or) the day after to give an appeal for a three-month operation to help the people of Türkiye with humanitarian assistance, and we will do some similar one for the people of Syria," Griffiths said.

As they are coming to the end of the rescue phase, the UN official expressed concern for the second phase of the disaster. 

"The second phase of a natural disaster of this size is often a medical one, where we have huge worries here and in Syria of the health problems which have been going on treated," he said, adding that Türkiye's response to the disaster was "extraordinary."

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Türkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria from the quakes has surpassed 28,000, according to the latest reports.

Search and rescue efforts in 10 quake-hit provinces in Türkiye have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Türkiye and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, while casualties are soaring, only a few injured people were pulled out of the rubble on Saturday.

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure, such as electricity, water and sewage, increases the risk of water and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Risks also increase for acute respiratory infections, such as influenza and the coronavirus, along with the possibility of contact-transmitted diseases, such as scabies, lice, fungi and diarrheal diseases, it added.

Chinese rescuers have saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China search and rescue team arrived in Türkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Türkiye to join the international rescue work.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

He said all the state dormitories of universities will be reserved for earthquake victims, and university students will have distance learning until the summer.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu slammed Germany and Austria because their teams have suspended their efforts due to security threats and criticized them for "slandering" Türkiye.

"Austria's search and rescue team left the job with the claim of battering ... From the first day (of the quake), 416 incidents took place. In the six days before the earthquake, 586 events occurred" in the region, the Turkish minister explained.

He said, "Two hundred and thirty people have been detained so far; there are more than 20 arrests. Our friends take the security of the logistics warehouses, the security of the debris fields, the security of the tent sites."

A border gate between Türkiye and Armenia has been opened for the first time in decades for the passage of humanitarian assistance for earthquake victims, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported on Saturday.

The Alican Border Gate was last used in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia when the Turkish Red Crescent crossed the border gate to dispatch aid to disaster areas.

The Armenian aid delegation, carrying 100 tonnes of food, medicine and drinking water, passed through the gate in the morning toward the southeastern province of Adiyaman, according to a tweet on Saturday by Serdar Kilic, Türkiye's special representative for normalization talks with Armenia.

Türkiye severed diplomatic relations and closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan, which was fighting a war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two neighbors launched talks on normalizing their ties in 2022.

(With input from Xinhua)

A drone made in China is providing lighting for rescue workers in earthquake-stricken areas of Türkiye. The lighting drone can illuminate about 8,000 square meters. Ten more are being dispatched to the quake-hit areas.

A UK emergency appeal for the victims of the horrific earthquake in Türkiye and Syria has raised over $63 million after just 48 hours.

The UK Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched the money raising effort which includes funds matched by the government and donations from members of the Royal Family. 

The money will go to 15 British charities responding to the crisis, providing hot meals, blankets, and medical aid for the hundreds of thousands left without shelter in freezing conditions after buildings collapsed. 

"We need people to give generously, because as important as the short-term needs are now, we know we're also going to have long term needs for people who have life-long injuries, who may have significant psychological issues, who may not be able to return to their livelihood," said Jeremy Smith, a British Red Cross aid worker.

British rescue teams are already on the ground in Türkiye using state of the art equipment to search for survivors. 

"So far, we've rescued dozens of people," UK International Search and Rescue Team member Shyam Rana said. "But there are still lots more trapped. We can hear people screaming beneath the rubble. We're still working hard, around the clock to rescue as many people as we can."

Meanwhile, Turkish communities in London have been collecting donated goods for victims in their homeland. 

It is frantic work driven by the desperate situation evolving since the earthquakes struck. 

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"It's mainly clothes, baby food, baby nappies, blankets, jumpers, shoes, socks, because obviously over there it's very cold," said Selcuk Dinc from West London Turkish Volunteers. 

Out in the yard are boxes packed with aid are piled high, ready to be transported to Heathrow airport where they will be shipped out to Türkiye on dedicated charter flights. 

The group is coordinating with the Turkish Red Crescent, ensuring the goods are distributed to those who need it most. Before long, the community center became so crammed with goods, it stopped accepting donations. 

The focus now is on fundraising for a long and difficult recovery phase.

Turkish police have detained 12 people, including contractors, over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, local DHA news agency reported Saturday, following the huge quakes that hit Türkiye.

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria rose above 25,000 on Saturday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 21,848 people have died in Türkiye while Syrian officials and medics said the death toll has risen to more than 3,553 in Syria, bringing the total to more than 25,401.

A border crossing between Armenia and Türkiye opened for the first time in 35 years on Saturday to allow humanitarian aid through after massive earthquakes hit the region, an official said.

Five trucks with aid, including food and water, arrived in Türkiye from the Alican border crossing, Serdar Kilic, Türkiye's special envoy for dialogue with Armenia, said on Twitter. Türkiye's state news agency Anadolu said this was the first time it had opened since 1988.

The disaster relief supplies from the Chinese government to Türkiye arrived at Istanbul International Airport on Saturday afternoon local time.

The first batch of 40,000 blankets, weighing 84 tonnes, left Shanghai Pudong Airport at 6:30 a.m. Beijing Time.

Other supplies, which include tents, electrocardiograph machines, ultrasonic diagnostics, medical transport vehicles, and manual hospital beds, will be flown to Türkiye in the coming days.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 21,043, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has arrived at the quake-hit Aleppo airport in Syria, local media reported on Saturday.

The Göbekli Tepe, located in the Germuş mountains of southeastern Anatolia, Türkiye, could be at risk after a series of devastating earthquakes hit the country, according to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday.

Although the agency has not yet received any reports of it being damaged, UNESCO said the Göbekli Tepe could be in danger as it is relatively close to the epicenter of the quakes.

These magnificent megalithic structures, in round-oval and rectangular shapes, were erected by hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic age between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE, according to an introduction on the World Heritage List on UNESCO’s website. The monuments were probably used in connection with rituals, most likely of a funerary nature.

Images of wild animals were carved on pillars, indicating the way of life and beliefs of people living in Upper Mesopotamia about 11,500 years ago.

Several World Heritage sites have suffered damage of different levels of magnitude after the mega-earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, including the Ancient city of Aleppo, and the Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape.

The UN's cultural body said it has undertaken an initial survey of the damage done to local heritage sites and is mobilizing its experts to establish a precise inventory of this to help secure and stabilize them.

Editor's note: Thomas O. Falk is a London-based political analyst and commentator. He holds a Master of Arts in international relations from the University of Birmingham and specializes in U.S. affairs. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The earthquake in Türkiye and Syria struck a region hard hit by international conflict. The world community must not differentiate between Syria and Türkiye, and the actors present in the region must place their interests aside for hope and help to prevail.

"On behalf of the Greek people, I have expressed my heartfelt condolences," Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted after a phone call with Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Athens stands ready to provide further assistance, he added.

It's a positive sign that the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have brought rivals Greece and Türkiye closer together. The phone call was the first conversation between Erdogan and Mitsotakis in nearly a year. In August and September 1999, severe earthquakes shook northwest Türkiye and Athens, one after the other. The first Greek rescue teams helped Türkiye, while Turkish rescuers came to Greece. The disasters brought the two countries closer together back then as well.

Additionally, more rapprochement between Greece and Türkiye is required. The death toll in the recent earthquake has already surpassed 22000, and the material damages cannot even be quantified at the moment. Fortunately, people from all over the world are supporting Türkiye by delivering substantial funds and aid to the country. Volunteers from worldwide are on site, which are terrific signs of courage and hope.

Nevertheless, the question of whether global support is reaching Türkiye and northern Syria in equal measure remains unclear. It depends on whether one can understand one another and – for the moment – ​​forget geopolitical interests. Accordingly, it should theoretically make no difference whether the victims come from Türkiye or Syria. But in reality, it does make a difference.

The disaster area itself runs along the border between southern Türkiye and northern Syria. Syria has confronted a bloody civil war for almost 12 years and stands at the epicenter of a highly volatile region. Therefore, too many actors attempt to push their own geopolitical interests in this region.

This status quo poses incredible challenges for aid organizations and international politics alike, since volunteers from around the world could be entering a cauldron of conflict and violence. Hence, the rescue measures in Türkiye could start immediately, while in northern Syria, people facing shortages of the bare essentials, as well as professional aid workers and equipment.

The affected areas in Syria's war-torn northwestern region are difficult to reach. Six trucks with aid supplies from the United Nations arrived on February 9. According to the UN, they came from Türkiye and passed through the only open border crossing, Bab al-Hawa. Additionally, Russia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, among others, have delivered aid to the country.

It will be decisive whether Türkiye supports rescue workers in the Kurdish areas and whether Syria clears the way for help in rebel areas. The airports and borders must open up so that volunteers can deliver rescue equipment and supplies to where they are needed most. 

Yet, Western-imposed sanctions on Syria are hampering aid to the country. The Syrians have gotten punished by the sanctions regime of the EU and U.S. for years. And in times of disaster, the impact will be much more devastating. Help for them has become a priority, while selfish geopolitical interests should be curbed at the moment.

If not, we'll face another political catastrophe in the midst of this humanitarian catastrophe and miss the opportunity to make diplomatic advances where they are needed the most.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.) 

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 20,665, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Saturday.

The Chinese government delivered its first supplies to Türkiye for earthquake relief on Saturday morning, according to the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

The first batch of 40,000 blankets left Shanghai Pudong Airport at 6:30 a.m. and will arrive in Istanbul, Türkiye on Saturday and Sunday, said the CIDCA.

According to the CIDCA, China will send other supplies, which include 1,000 sets of cotton tents, electrocardiograph machines, ultrasonic diagnostics, medical transport vehicles, and manual hospital beds in the coming days.

An estimated 5.3 million people in Syria may have been left homeless by the earthquake that struck the country and Türkiye earlier this week, a United Nations (UN) official said on Friday.

Sivanka Dhanapala, the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) representative in Syria, told a press briefing via video link from Damascus that, "we have just had a preliminary estimate that 5.37 million people affected by the quake will need shelter assistance in the whole of Syria."

"That is a huge number and comes to a population already suffering mass displacement," he added.

He said that the UNHCR was now focusing on the provision of shelter and relief items to ensure that the centers for the displaced had adequate facilities, such as tents, plastic sheeting, thermal blankets, sleeping mats and winter clothing.

Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the country’s death toll from Monday’s earthquakes has risen to 20,213 while 77,711 people have been injured.

Survivors from Monday's catastrophic earthquake in Türkiye and Syria were still being pulled out of the rubble even after the most crucial time for rescue operations - 72 hours - had well passed.

Around two dozen people, including a three-and-half-year-old and a 66-year-old, were plucked to safety 100 hours after the quake, Turkish state media Anadolu Ajansı reported. Some of these survivors were rescued along with their sibling or parent, and one was saved by her dog, whose bark led the rescue team to their whereabouts.

The 72-hour window is considered the most critical for rescuers to find survivors buried under the debris of collapsed buildings, but the news of people still being saved long after its passage has offered a glimmer of hope. 

Search and rescue attempts are usually halted around a week after a disaster if no-one has been found alive in the previous day or two.

The confirmed death toll from the deadliest quake in the region in decades stood at 22,000 in both countries on Friday. Hundreds of thousands more people have been left homeless and short of food in bleak winter conditions, desperate for a multinational relief effort to alleviate their suffering.

Relief aid

A flurry of disaster relief and foreign rescue crews have arrived in Türkiye to help people affected by the tremors settle and save survivors. The government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but is still struggling to reach many people in need.

In Syria, while the delivery of urgent supplies to its quake-hit areas has been muddled by a long-running civil conflict, convoys of aid sent by Arab countries and the UN have continuously arrived after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pushed for more aid access to the country on Thursday, according to Syrian state media SANA.

Citing difficulties in accessing more humanitarian assistance, Damascus has called on the U.S. and the European Union to lift their sanctions on Syria.

As international pressure for removing sanctions mounts, the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday it has issued a temporary license to allow earthquake-related relief to get through that would otherwise be prohibited by sanctions on Syria. The license, which lasts for six months, expands on broad humanitarian authorizations already in effect.

Leaders' visits

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday made his first reported trip to affected areas since the quake. Speaking to reporters, he accused western countries of politicizing Syria's humanitarian crisis.

"The West has no humanitarianism, therefore politicizing the situation in Syria is something they would naturally do," he said. 

Assad visited Aleppo University Hospital and then met with rescuers in Masharqua, where paramedics on Thursday removed the bodies of 44 people and seven others alive from one building.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Michael Ryan, WHO's head of emergencies, were also arriving in Aleppo on Friday to help coordinate and support the delivery of aid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the powerful earthquake as "one of the greatest disasters our nation has faced in its history."

He again visited the disaster zone in his country on Friday. Touring the province of Adiyaman, Erdogan said search-and-rescue efforts would continue until no one is left trapped beneath the rubble.

He renewed a promise to rebuild the area within the year, and also said the government would subsidize rents for one year for people unwilling to stay in tents.

(With input from agencies)

Syrian government approved aid delivery to areas outside government control in cooperation with International Committee of the Red Cross, Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations, Syrian Ministry of Health said on Friday.

The China Search and Rescue team has rescued a woman trapped under debris in Türkiye's quake-hit Hatay. The survivor was reportedly showing strong vital signs when she was found by the team from China who worked with members of Türkiye's fire brigade for over three hours to perform the rescue. She is the fourth survivor the Chinese team has managed to save since they began rescue operations in Turkiye. CGTN's Cen Ziyuan tells us more.

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye in the early hours of the morning local time, and a second major quake also measuring 7.8 struck the same area at 1:24 p.m. Cities in southern Türkiye, and northern Syria has been hit hard.

On February 9, CGTN Stringer Neyran Elden visited the old town of Antakya, Hatay province, home of historical buildings, including the site of the ancient city of Antioch, founded at the end of the fourth century B.C. As Elden shows, multiple ancient architectures, including the old parliament building, Ulu mosque, and churches, had been damaged or collapsed, some reduced to rubble. Meanwhile, rescue teams from all over the world are working hard in Antakya, looking for survivors.

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye in the early hours of the morning, and a second major quake measuring 7.8 struck the same area at 1:24 p.m. Cities in southern Türkiye, and northern Syria have been hit hard.

CGTN stringer went to the old town of Antakya, Hatay province, Türkiye, home of historical buildings, including the site of the ancient city of Antioch founded at the end of the fourth century B.C. and captured drone footage of collapsed homes and historical buildings, as well as the difficult search and rescue operations.

The Chinese rescue team rescued a woman from the ruins of a collapsed house in the center of Antakya, Türkiye, at 3:40 p.m. on Friday. This is the fourth trapped person successfully rescued by the Chinese rescue team after arriving there.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 19,388 and 77,711 people were injured, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. 

Rescue work is now into the fifth day after two strong quakes ,which also affected Syria, and hundreds of aftershocks. 

Over 141,000 personnel, including from foreign countries, are currently working in quake-hit region, Erdogan said in Malatya during a visit to assess damage with officials and meet with earthquake victims.

Meanwhile, according to officials and medics, sources said that at least 3,384 people were killed due to the earthquakes in Syria. 

Rescue operations continue in the southern province of Osmaniye, which was devastated by the earthquake, with many residential buildings collapsed or severely damaged. Distraught family members of missing residents are hoping that miracles can emerge from beneath the rubble.

Like many other family members of missing residents, Fatih comes to the site every day. He said that three children of his brother and sister-in-law survived the disaster, but the couple has been left buried in a nine-story building. He said he would keep waiting and praying for a positive outcome for his family.

At least 300 buildings were destroyed in Malatya, Türkiye. The Chinese Blue Sky rescue team having been working since early hours on Friday morning to find survivors. For the latest, CGTN's Michal Bardavid is live on the scene.

The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 18,991, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday in southeastern Türkiye's Adiyaman province.

Erdogan said the country is facing one of its worst disasters ever, and he promised that the government will implement a one-year reconstruction plan in the disaster area to help people rebuild their homes.

Erdogan also said the Turkish authorities' response to the massive earthquakes in the country's south is not as fast as the government wanted. He added some people were robbing markets and attacking businesses, and a state of emergency declared in the area will allow the necessary penalties to be imposed.

(With input from Reuters)

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday it was running out of stocks in northwest Syria and called for more border crossings from Türkiye to open after both countries were ravaged by earthquakes.

"Northwest Syria, where 90% of the population depends on humanitarian assistance, is a big concern. We have reached the people there, but we need to replenish our stocks," Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe, told reporters.

WFP also appealed on Friday for $77 million to provide food rations and hot meals for 874,000 people affected by the deadly earthquake in Syria and Türkiye. 

The number in need of aid "includes 284,000 newly displaced people in Syria and 590,000 people in Türkiye, which includes 45,000 refugees and 545,000 internally displaced people", the Rome-based organisation said in a statement. 

(With input from agencies)

Video clips from Marwan Kamel at Gaziantep Airport. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus are offering free flights for people to flee affected areas. The airports are overwhelmed. 

China's Ramunion rescue team and the Turkish Army Urban Search team successfully rescued a family of five, including two adults and three children, in a civilian house. After being rescued, a woman gave a thumbs up to the rescuers.

Syrian Minister of Health Hasan Al-Ghabash has called on the international community to step up aid to Syria as the country is in a dire situation after the earthquakes. Al-Ghabash expressed gratitude to the countries that have provided assistance and support. But he also blamed the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the West on Syria for creating and exacerbating its humanitarian crisis.

From Gaziantep Castle to an ancient citadel in Aleppo, Monday's devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have damaged many historical sites in both countries.

According to UNESCO, several buildings collapsed at the heritage site known as the Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape in southeastern Türkiye. But specific details of the scale of destruction are as yet unknown.

The UN's cultural body noted that the quake occurred in one of the longest continuously inhabited areas on the planet within the so-called "Fertile Crescent."

Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape is a key center of the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods. The 5.8-kilometer-long city walls of Diyarbakir are a popular tourism destination reminiscent of the Great Wall of China.

UNESCO said in a recent statement that it was working with partners on an initial survey to assess the damage sustained at heritage sites in the stricken area with the aim of securing and stabilizing them.

Gaziantep Castle, another UNESCO World Heritage Site in southeastern Türkiye, was reported to have suffered severe damage when a retaining wall of the castle collapsed, leaving debris strewn around the site. In Syria, a 13th-century citadel in the ancient city of Aleppo also sustained damage.

The devastating earthquakes have already claimed the lives of over 21,000 people across Türkiye and Syria, according to news reports on Friday.

(With input from AFP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Aleppo hospital in quake-hit area on Friday, according to Syrian presidency on Twitter.

The first round of medical supplies and rescue workers from the Red Cross Society of China arrived in Syria on Thursday, where millions of residents already reliant on humanitarian aid due to years of war, now face the devastating aftermath of Monday's earthquakes.

Cai Wennan, director of disaster management in the Relief & Rescue Department under Red Cross Society of China, is among team members heading to Syria.

"What we carried to Syria is based on the list the Syrian side provided, including the most needed medicines and medical supplies. The supplies we have mobilized in China could help 5,000 people in need," Cai said.

Noting the batch of Chinese humanitarian aid worth 30 million yuan (around $4.4 million), Shi Hongwei, Chinese ambassador to Syria, said we will see more batches of Chinese humanitarian aid.

Days have passed since two large earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria. On top of the cold weather, the situation in Syria is complicated by a lack of medical and food supplies. More than a decade of conflict and international sanctions are making it difficult for international aid to reach the hardest-hit areas.

The Red Cross Society of China has provided the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent each with $200,000 in cash as emergency humanitarian assistance since Monday's earthquakes.

Türkiye is grappling with a massive challenge brought on by the earthquake that flattened a swathe of its towns and cities: How can the hundreds of thousands left homeless in the middle of winter be sheltered? Tent cities are being erected in stadiums and shattered city centers, while Mediterranean and Aegean beach resorts outside the quake zone are opening up hotel rooms for evacuees. With some 6,500 buildings having collapsed and countless more damaged, hundreds of thousands of people lack safe housing. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority estimates that more than 28,000 homeless people have been transported out of the quake zone thus far, including nearly 5,000 by road and at least 23,000 by air.

The Chinese rescue team sent to Türkiye has helped save a woman trapped under rubble for more than 80 hours in the southern city of Antakya on February 9. The woman was rescued from the rubble of a seven-story building after more than two hours of joint efforts made by Chinese and Turkish rescuers. The rescuers said she was still able to communicate clearly. She has been rushed to hospital for treatment.

 The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 18,342, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Friday.  

The World Bank said on Thursday that it is providing Türkiye with $1.78 billion in relief and recovery financing assistance, as the country struggles with the aftermath of a deadly earthquake.

The bank stated that $780 million will be diverted for immediate relief from two of its existing loan projects in Türkiye, while the remainder is being prepared for reconstruction financing, but will take more time to arrange.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to17,674, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Thursday.

Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000 on Thursday.

The rescue of a two-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Türkiye, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities.

The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest Türkiye.

READ MORE

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Erdogan acknowledges problems with quake relief effort

Red Cross Society of China sends aid to quake-hit Syria

A Turkish official said the disaster posed "very serious difficulties" for the holding of an election scheduled for May 14 in which President Tayyip Erdogan has been expected to face the toughest challenge in his two decades in power.

With anger simmering over the slow delivery of aid and delays in getting the rescue effort underway, the disaster is bound to play into the vote if it goes ahead.

Meanwhile, the first United Nations convoy carrying aid to stricken Syrians crossed over the border from Türkiye.

In Syria's Idlib province, Munira Mohammad, a mother-of-four who had fled Aleppo after the quake, said: "It is all children here, and we need heating and supplies. Last night we couldn't sleep because it was so cold. It is very bad." 

Hundreds of thousands of people across both countries have been left homeless in the middle of winter. Many have camped out in makeshift shelters in supermarket car parks, mosques, roadsides or amid the ruins, often desperate for food, water and heat.

At a gas station near the Turkish town of Kemalpasa, people picked through cardboard boxes of donated clothes. In the port city of Iskenderun, people could be seen huddled around campfires on roadsides and in wrecked garages and warehouses. 

Authorities say some 6,500 buildings in Türkiye collapsed and countless more were damaged.

The confirmed death toll in Türkiye rose to 16,546 on Thursday, Erdogan said. In Syria, already devastated by nearly 12 years of civil war, more than 3,000 people have died, according to the government and a rescue service in the rebel-held northwest.

In Türkiye's Maras, people camped inside a bank, taping a sheet in the window for privacy. 

In Antakya, few petrol stations had fuel and kilometers-long queues stretched from those that did.

In the devastated Syrian town of Jandaris, Ibrahim Khalil Menkaween walked in the rubble-strewn streets clutching a white body bag. He said he had lost seven members of his family including his wife and two of his brothers.

"I’m holding this bag for when they bring out my brother, and my brother’s young son, and both of their wives, so we can pack them in bags," he said. "The situation is very bad. And there is no aid."

Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250 kilometers from the epicenter. 

In the city of Adiyaman, rescue crews looked for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in the dark and with temperatures below freezing, Turkish broadcasters showed. 

Teams frequently called for silence, asking all vehicles and generators to be turned off and reporters to keep quiet as they listened for sounds of anyone alive under the concrete blocks.

There were still some signs of hope. 

A two-year-old boy was picked out of the rubble by a Romanian and Polish rescue team in Hatay 79 hours after the quake, video released by Türkiye's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) on Thursday showed.

Another video from IHH showed a helmeted and dust-streaked rescuer weeping with emotion after successfully freeing a little girl from the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras.

No one would be left homeless

Many in Türkiye have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped – sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.

After facing criticism over the initial response, Erdogan said on a visit to the area on Wednesday that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless. 

In Syria, relief efforts are complicated by a conflict that has partitioned the country and wrecked its infrastructure.

The UN aid convoy entered Syria at the Bab Al Hawa crossing – a lifeline for accessing opposition-controlled areas where around four million people, many displaced by the war, were already relying on humanitarian aid.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pushed for more humanitarian access to northwestern Syria, saying he would be "very happy" if the UN could use more than one border crossing to deliver help.

The Syrian government views the delivery of aid to the rebel-held northwest from Türkiye as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Since 2014 the United Nations has had a UN Security Council mandate allowing it to reach millions of people in need in the area via one crossing.

El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the senior UN aid official in Syria, said 10.9 million people had been affected. 

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday admitted the government lacked capability and equipment, but blamed the war and Western sanctions. 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has chaired emergency meetings on the earthquake but has not addressed the nation in a speech or news conference.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday pledged support to help Türkiye and Syria in handling the aftermath of Monday's devastating earthquakes.

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria has surpassed 19,000, according to the latest data.

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye in the early hours of the morning local time, and a second major quake measuring 7.8 struck the same area at 1:24 p.m. Cities in southern Türkiye and northern Syria have been hit hard.

On February 8, CGTN Stringer Neyran Elden visited the city center of Hatay, one of the hardest-hit areas. Collapsed buildings can be seen everywhere, and there are still survivors waiting for rescue under the rubble. With the arrival of more rescue supplies and rescue teams, many tents were set up in the city center, where clothes and food were distributed, and more people could enter the tents for the night. "There is no sleep in Hatay," Elden says. "Now, every minute counts, and this is a critical time."

Emergency workers from Istanbul Municipality rescued a baby from the rubble of a collapsed building in the Turkish city of Hatay on Wednesday (February 8), nearly 68 hours after a major earthquake struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria.

Rescuers reported that the baby, named Helen, was in good health and put under supervision by medical units.

More than 17,000 people are known to have died in Türkiye and Syria, after a 7.8-magnitude quake struck as people slept early Monday in a region where many people had already suffered loss and displacement due to Syria's civil war.

READ MORE

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Erdogan acknowledges problems with quake relief effort

Red Cross Society of China sends aid to quake-hit Syria

In Türkiye's Adiyaman province, another search and rescue team found four members of the same family alive under the wreckage in the late hours of Wednesday.

Bitter cold has hampered the four-day search of thousands of flattened buildings and the 72-hour mark that experts consider the most likely period to save lives has passed.

An official at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing told AFP that an aid convoy reached rebel-held northwestern Syria Thursday, the first since the earthquake that has left survivors sleeping outdoors due to aftershock risks.

A decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian aerial bombardment had already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy and prompted electricity, fuel and water shortages.

'Very serious difficulties'

The earthquake was the biggest natural disaster to strike the region since 1999, when a similarly powerful quake killed more than 17,000 people in Türkiye.

A Turkish official said the disaster posed "very serious difficulties" for the holding of an election scheduled for May 14, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to face the toughest challenge in his two decades in power.

With anger simmering over the slow delivery of aid and delays in getting the rescue effort underway, the disaster is bound to play into the vote should it still go ahead.

On the ground, many people in Türkiye and Syria spent a third night sleeping outside or in cars in freezing winter temperatures, their homes destroyed or so shaken by the quakes they were too afraid to re-enter.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless in the middle of winter. Many have camped out in makeshift shelters in supermarket car parks, mosques, roadsides or amid the ruins, often desperate for food, water and heat.

The death toll in Türkiye rose to 14,014 by Thursday morning. In Syria, more than 3,000 people have died, according to the government and a rescue service in the rebel-held northwest.

Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 kilometers from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250 kilometers from the epicenter.

A three-month state of emergency in 10 quake-hit provinces of Türkiye began on Thursday after approval from the country's Grand National Assembly.

Earthquakes in southern Türkiye, which can be described as a "disaster of century," have caused great destruction in the 10 provinces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

Erdogan said that all kinds of teams and equipment needed had been directed to quake-hit region from across the country.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 16,170, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

In the southern Turkish city of Antakya, a pregnant woman buried under the rubble of a collapsed building was pulled out to safety by Chinese and local rescue teams on Thursday, three days after the catastrophic magnitude-7.7 earthquake and its aftershocks struck the country and northern Syria.

Across a swathe of southern Türkiye, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still lie buried. The death toll in Türkiye has risen to 14,351.

The Chinese rescue team, consisting of 82 members including specialists in search and rescue as well as medical treatment, rushed to one of the worst-hit regions in Türkiye as soon as they landed at the Adana international airport on Wednesday. 

Arriving at the scene, the Chinese rescuers immediately joined their Turkish partners to carry out a rescue plan and saved the woman, according to Zhao Yang, deputy leader of the Chinese rescue team.

Civilian teams

The team sent by the Chinese government was followed by several Chinese civilian teams set to join the international rescue effort.

The first batch of the Blue Sky Rescue (BSR) team, a professional non-profit search-and-rescue organization, arrived in Türkiye on Wednesday. Many within the 50-member team have international rescue experience.

On Wednesday, another 127 BSR members from different parts of China assembled in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, from which they then departed for Türkiye, bringing with them more devices including radar and sonar life detectors, drones and emergency medical supplies.

Eight experts of the Rescue Team of Ramunion from China's Zhejiang arrived in Adana on Wednesday to carry out rescue work and provide help to quake-affected victims.

As of midday Thursday, 10 Chinese civilian teams from places including south China's Shenzhen and Wenzhou have already departed for or arrived in Türkiye to assist in the rescue effort.

Overseas branches of Chinese companies are also lending a helping hand. Chinese machinery giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group has mobilized employees of its local branch in Türkiye to join in the relief efforts.

Freezing temperatures

Bitter cold has hampered the four-day search of thousands of flattened buildings, and the 72-hour mark that experts consider the most likely period to save lives has passed.

Temperatures in the Turkish city of Gaziantep plunged to minus 5 degrees Celsius early Thursday, but thousands of families spent the night in cars and makeshift tents – too scared or banned from returning to their homes.

Parents walked the streets of the city – close to the epicenter of Monday's earthquake – carrying their children in blankets because it was warmer than sitting in a tent.

Some people have found sanctuary with neighbors or relatives. Some have left the region. But many have nowhere to go.

Gyms, mosques, schools and some stores have opened up at night. But beds are still at a premium and thousands spend the nights in cars with engines running to provide heat.

Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 kilometers from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east.

On a visit to the disaster zone on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said operations were now proceeding normally and promised no one would be left homeless.

Speaking to reporters, with a wail of ambulance sirens in the background, he said there had been problems with roads and airports but "we are better today."

"We will be better tomorrow and later. We still have some issues with fuel ... but we will overcome those too," Erdogan said.

(With input from agencies)

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted southern Türkiye in the early hours of February 6, followed by another quake only slightly less strong soon afterward, causing heavy casualties in the country and neighboring Syria.

CGTN Stringer went to the hardest-hit province of Hatay and captured drone footage of collapsed homes and buildings, as well as the difficult search and rescue operations.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 14,351, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a three-month state of emergency to speed up rescue and aid efforts in the quake-hit provinces will enter into force later on Thursday after a vote in the parliament, the Anadolu Agency reported.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 14,014, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Thursday during a visit to the quake-hit province of Gaziantep.

Erdogan said over 6,400 buildings had been destroyed, and Türkiye aimed to build new three- and four-story buildings in the region within one year.

The latest number of deaths in Syria stood at 3,162, according to Syrian state media and local rescuers. While the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 3,556 people have died in Syria.

Thus, the devastating earthquakes have left over 17,100 people dead, while rescue teams are racing against time to find more survivors.

A UN convoy carrying humanitarian aid entered Syria on Thursday at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Türkiye in the first such delivery since the quakes, a border crossing official told Reuters.

The United Nations earlier said it had received assurances that relief aid would reach earthquake-devastated areas of northwestern Syria through the sole authorized crossing from Türkiye on Thursday and has demanded that the aid not be "politicized."

"We were assured today that we would be able to get through the first assistance today" through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told reporters in Geneva on Thursday.

(With input from agencies)

A total of 28,044 people have been evacuated from quake-hit regions in southern Türkiye, Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday, citing the Turkish disaster agency.

The United Nation's cultural agency UNESCO said it would provide support to its damaged World Heritage sites in Türkiye and neighboring Syria after a series of earthquakes hit the region.

UNESCO also warned that other sites in Türkiye on the World Heritage list not far from the epicenter could be affected by the quake, including the famous archaeological site of Nemrut Dag.

Türkiye's UNESCO World Heritage Site Gaziantep Castle was among the thousands of buildings destroyed by the earthquakes. The Roman-era castle located in southeastern Türkiye has a history dating back more than 1,700 years.

The castle was considered to be one of the best-preserved fortresses in Türkiye. But now images shared by news agencies showed debris scattered around the castle and its surrounding area. The retaining wall next to the castle also collapsed while some bastions showed signs of cracking.

The site has served numerous functions over the centuries and was still in use last year. Part of the castle was converted into the Gaziantep Defence and Heroism Panoramic Museum, honoring the city's fight against the French and British occupations.

Gaziantep Castle was not the only historic site leveled by the quake. In Syria, a 13th-century citadel in the ancient city of Aleppo also sustained damage. 

Aleppo was once Syria's largest and most cosmopolitan city and is a renowned UNESCO World Heritage site.

A statement from UNESCO said the organization and its partners had carried out an initial survey of the damage from the earthquake, paying particular attention to the old city of Aleppo.

The statement also said UNESCO is mobilizing its experts and partners to establish a precise inventory of the damage, and cooperate with national authorities to safeguard these sites while respecting the current priority of rescue and relief efforts.

The devastating earthquakes have already claimed the lives of over 15,000 people across Türkiye and Syria, according to news reports on Thursday.

(With input from AFP)

A rescue team from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) arrived at Istanbul Airport in Türkiye on Thursday noon, China Media Group reported.

The 59-member team will visit quake-stricken areas in Adana to assist in search and rescue operations.

The team has brought 8 tonnes of equipment, including life detectors and masonry cutting machines, besides the team's daily necessities, the local government said in a notice.

(Cover via China Media Group)

Three Chinese citizens were rescued in good condition after Monday's devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing on Thursday.

The Chinese government is ready to continue to provide relief, resettlement and reconstruction assistance to Türkiye and Syria, added Mao.

The first UN aid convoy reached Syria on Thursday, bringing supplies including tents and hygiene products to disaster zones, according to UN sources.

The devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria has taken thousands of people's lives and brought down thousands of buildings, leaving many homeless in the brutal winter season.

The combined death toll for both countries is nearing 21,000, with certain areas having been hit particularly hard.

Live: The latest update on earthquakes in Türkiye, Syria

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck southern Türkiye on Monday, followed by powerful aftershocks. Türkiye's southern province of Hatay and northern Syria's Aleppo suffered the most significant loss of lives.

A tough situation in war-torn Syria

The rescue work continues in Syria's disaster zones but is hampered by heavy snow and freezing temperatures. 

Winters in Syria can be extremely tough, especially when it is hit by torrential rains, strong winds and snowfalls, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Thousands are still trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. In many areas, rescuers have to dig through debris with their bare hands or the simplest tools due to the lack of necessary equipment caused by years of U.S. and European sanctions against the country.

Syrian officials have blamed Western countries for impeding rescue operations in the country. Responding to a question by China Media Group, Syria's permanent representative to the UN Bassam al-Sabbagh said sanctions have blocked humanitarian aid, including medicine and heavy equipment, from reaching Syria.

A lot of cargo airplanes refuse to land at Syrian airports because of the American and European sanctions, he said, adding that even those countries who want to send humanitarian assistance cannot use the cargo airplane because of the sanctions.

There have been calls for lifting the U.S. and Western sanctions on Syria.

The catastrophe has been compounded by U.S.-led Western sanctions, said Syrian Ambassador to China Mohammed Hasanein Khaddam during an exclusive interview with CGTN.

"The sooner these sanctions are lifted, the sooner it (Syria) receives aids, the more people will be saved."

Read more: 

Syrian ambassador: Earthquake sufferings compounded by Western sanctions

Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) President Khaled Hboubati on Tuesday called for lifting the U.S. and Western sanctions on Syria to facilitate relief efforts, as the country is in dire need of rescue equipment.

Speaking at a press conference in the Syrian capital Damascus, Hboubati stressed that the SARC needs equipment, ambulances and heavy machinery, but "the main obstacle is the sanctions imposed on Syria, which we demand to be lifted immediately."

"This tragedy drives home how urgently Western sanctions must be removed – they are killing Syrians every single day," tweeted Sharmine Narwani, a commentator and analyst of Middle East geopolitics and former senior associate at St. Antony's College, Oxford University.

Lingering effects of Western sanctions

In Syria, the disaster came in the wake of over a decade of conflicts and crippling economic situation that was hit by Western sanctions.

Millions of Syrians, who are living in dire poverty, have already been displaced within the country, while more people are seeking refuge in neighboring Türkiye.

Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. in 1979, followed by a series of economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its Western allies.

Western countries like Canada also imposed economic sanctions against Syria, such as prohibiting all investments in Syria, all imports of goods from Syria, and financial services related to the country.

Since the Syrian civil war started in 2011, the European Union suspended all its bilateral corporation with the Syrian government, including the trade in crude oil and petroleum products. In the following years, bilateral trade volumes dropped substantially with the EU's restrictive measures against Syria.

In May 2022, the Council of the European Union extended its sanctions for another year until June 1, 2023, including travel bans and freezing of assets of the Central Bank of Syria held in the EU.

The Syrian banking system is disconnected from the world, local people cannot even buy medicines, Khaddam told CGTN, adding that wars and the earthquake have destroyed a lot of infrastructure, and people who have survived lack shelter and medication.

Damage to roads and local infrastructure has compounded difficulties in the supply of relief materials in the country, and such delay could cost more lives.

Editor's note: As the death toll from the devastating earthquakes mounts in Türkiye and Syria, The Hub with Wang Guan looks at the tragedy of a nation hit by multiple crises with this exclusive with Mohammed Hasanein Khaddam, Syrian Ambassador to China. Khaddam says the catastrophe has been compounded by U.S.-led Western sanctions and calls for them to be lifted so that humanitarian assistance can reach people sooner and more lives can be saved. He calls the situation in Syria the "indefensible" result of the U.S. "rules-based order" and hopes the earthquakes will shake nations' conscience. While the Western media is ignoring Syria, he says the Chinese leadership and ordinary people have stood by Syria with genuine empathy and assistance and appreciates China's diplomatic support in the UN when some Western nations tried to target Syria: "The (Chinese) generosity has always been there."

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 12,873, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Thursday in an update. 

Meanwhile, 3,556 people have died in Syria's government-controlled  and rebel-held areas, taking earthquakes' toll from two countries to over 16,400 so far. 

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has responded to requests from the Syrian side on the disaster relief operation. The RCSC has sent a team of rescue workers and pledged to ship the first batch of medical supplies, which is expected to meet the needs of 5,000 people. These moves came after the RCSC offered emergency humanitarian assistance of $200,000 each to Türkiye and Syria. The plane is estimated to arrive in 10 and half hours.

A ten-member Chinese volunteer rescue team flew to Türkiye on Thursday to assist in rescue operations after this week's deadly earthquakes.

The team, due to spend about 10 days, took along life detectors and other equipment and about 1.5 tonnes of urgently needed medicines.

It comprises experienced members of Chinese voluntary rescue associations.

Cracks appeared in the Al-Talal Dam on the Orontes River in rural Idlib in northwestern Syria following this week's earthquakes, and water flowed into the camp area north of the town of Salqin, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) is sending a rescue team to earthquake-hit Syria on Thursday. 

In war-torn Syria, more than 2,500 people were killed by the massive earthquakes that hit neighboring Türkiye on February 6. In Idlib, medical workers already low on supplies are struggling to treat the wounded.

China's search and rescue team has helped to rescue a pregnant woman from debris in the city of Hatay. A line formed to ensure that the survivor was transported to the ambulance on time. It has been about 60 hours since the earthquake hit the city. The woman was the first person rescued since the team landed.

Chinese rescue teams started operations in Türkiye's southern province of Hatay, which suffered the most loss of life in Monday's earthquakes. An 82-member Chinese rescue team started its efforts at 21:00 local time on Wednesday from a collapsed five-story apartment, where 10 residents were missing. The team, dispatched by the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management, carried with them rescue equipment and supplies.

The first team of China's civil squad aiding the quake relief efforts in Türkiye, the Ramunion Rescue, also reached Iskenderun in Hatay from Adana at around 19:00 local time.

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria rose above 15,000 on Wednesday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

Officials and medics said 12,391 people have died in Türkiye and 3,042 in Syria, bringing the total to 15,433.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 12,391, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Thursday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has sent Martin Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, to quake-hit Türkiye. Guterres also said he will issue a flash appeal early next week to support humanitarian needs, Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday.

"We have coordinated the deployment of over 4,948 search and rescue experts and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) emergency response teams soon after the earthquake shook Türkiye and Syria," Griffiths said Thursday on Twitter.  

At least 9,057 people were killed and 52,979 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday as he visited the affected regions.

Erdogan said all resources were mobilized in disaster relief. "We have mobilized all our resources. The state is working with municipalities, especially AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency), with all its means," he said during visit to the hard-hit Kahramanmaras province.

Some 13 million people were affected in Türkiye and over 6,000 buildings were collapsed due to the deadly quakes as rescue operation continues.

More than 98,150 searches and rescue personnel are currently conducting operations in the field and 5,309 personnel coming from other countries for help were dispatched to the disaster area, according to Anadolu Agency citing the AFAD. 

Rescue operations are continuing in full swing to find survivors in the deadly earthquake that ravaged parts of Türkiye and Syria. 

More than 11,000 people have died and the WHO has warned the number of dead could rise to more than four times this figure, or around 20,000, in the coming days. 

CGTN correspondent Shamim Chowdhury reports from Adana, Türkiye. 

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday admitted there were problems with his government's initial response to a devastating earthquake in southern Türkiye amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams.

Erdogan, who contests an election in May, said on a visit to the disaster zone that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless, as the combined death toll across Türkiye and neighboring Syria climbed above 11,500.

Across a swathe of southern Türkiye, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather, and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still lie buried.

READ MORE

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German aid workers rush to help earthquake victims

Why have Türkiye's earthquakes proved so deadly?

Rescuers were still digging out some people alive, and finding others dead. But many Turks have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped - sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.

"Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can get them out," Sabiha Alinak said near a snow-covered collapsed building where her young relatives were trapped in the city of Malatya.

There were similar scenes and complaints in neighboring Syria, whose north was also hard hit by Monday's huge quake.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations admitted the government had a "lack of capabilities and lack of equipment" but blamed this on over a decade of civil war in his country and Western sanctions.

'An emergency within an emergency'

In an exclusive interview, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson told CGTN that rescue efforts are very different in the two countries. 

"We have two very different country set-ups," Christian Lindmeier told CGTN. "Türkiye is badly hit, but Türkiye as a country has a lot of capacity, so here all the health teams that WHO is coordinating are supporting the government in their efforts."

By contrast, however, things are much more difficult in a Syria wracked by civil war. 

"All the help which northwestern Syria area has been getting the last years has been mainly coming out from Gaziantep, which is now heavily affected itself," said Lindmeier. 

"You have millions of people depending on humanitarian aid [for] years, and they are now struck with a disaster on top of it. So it's an emergency inside an emergency and with a way less prepared country, with way less resources."

Death toll sure to rise

The death toll from both countries was expected to rise further as hundreds of collapsed buildings in many cities have become tombs for people who had been asleep in their homes when the quake hit in the early morning.

In the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens of bodies, some covered in blankets and sheets and others in body bags, were lined up on the ground outside a hospital.

Melek, 64, said she had seen no rescue teams. "We survived the earthquake, but we will die here due to hunger or cold."

Families in southern Türkiye and in Syria spent a second night in the freezing cold. Many in the disaster zone had slept in their cars or in the streets under blankets, fearful of going back into buildings shaken by the 7.8 magnitude tremor – Türkiye's deadliest since 1999 – and by a second powerful quake hours later.

The reported death toll rose to 9,057 in Türkiye on Wednesday. In war-wrecked Syria, the confirmed toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.

Turkish authorities released video of rescued survivors, including a young girl in pajamas and an older man covered in dust, an unlit cigarette clamped between his fingers as he was pulled from the debris.

Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 kilometers from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, it killed people as far south as Hama, 250 kilometers from the epicenter.

Some of those killed in Türkiye were refugees from Syria's war. Their body bags arrived at the border in taxis, run-down vans and in piles atop flatbed trucks to be taken to final resting places in their homeland.

More than 298,000 people have been made homeless and 180 shelters for the displaced had been opened, Syrian state media reported, apparently referring to areas under government control, not those held by other factions.

In Syria's Aleppo, staff at the Al-Razi hospital attended to a man with bruised eyes who said more than a dozen relatives including his father and mother were killed when the building they were in collapsed.

"We were 16 and 13 of us died. My brother, one-and-a-half-year-old niece and I got out. Thank God," he said. "My father, my mother, my brother, his wife and their four children. The wife and two kids of my brother who got out with me also died."

Election impact

Erdogan, who has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and sent in troops to help, arrived in Kahramanmaras to view the damage and see the rescue and relief effort.

Speaking to reporters, with the wail of ambulance sirens in the background, Erdogan said there had been problems with roads and airports but insisted "we are better today. We will be better tomorrow and later. We still have some issues with fuel... but we will overcome those too," he said.

Later, he condemned criticism of the government's response. "This is a time for unity, solidarity. In a period like this, I cannot stomach people conducting negative campaigns for political interest," Erdogan told reporters on his arrival in the southern province of Hatay.

Nevertheless, the disaster will pose a challenge to Erdogan in the May election that was already set to be the toughest fight of his two decades in power.

Any perception that the government is failing to address the disaster properly could hurt his prospects. On the other hand, analysts say, he could rally national support around the crisis response and strengthen his position.

Bodies in blankets

The quake toppled thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, injured tens of thousands and left countless people homeless.

Entire streets in Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter, were reduced to rubble, drone footage showed, with plumes of smoke rising from fires across the town. Hundreds of tents were set up as shelter in a sporting venue. Journalists saw around 50 bodies draped in blankets on the floor of a sports hall.

In Syria, the relief effort is complicated by a conflict that has partitioned the nation and wrecked its infrastructure. 

Rescue workers have struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads, poor weather and a lack of heavy equipment. Some areas are without fuel and electricity.

The world has rallied round to try to help the earthquake-devastated countries of Türkiye and Syria – but sending help is not the only issue.  

In an exclusive interview, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson told CGTN that rescue efforts are markedly different in the two countries. 

"We have two very different country set-ups," Christian Lindmeier told CGTN. "Türkiye is badly hit, but Türkiye as a country has a lot of capacity, so here all the health teams that WHO is coordinating are supporting the government in their efforts."

READ MORE

Newborn, still attached to dead mother, survives quake

German aid workers rush to help earthquake victims

Why have Türkiye's earthquakes proved so deadly?

By contrast, however, things are much more difficult in a Syria wracked by civil war. 

"In Syria, the needs are the same, but we have a population of about 15 million who have been fleeing the war already," he said. "We have a way less capable country to deal with this. We need all the same things, but we need access, we need to find out how many people are actually affected."

Lindmeier notes that much of the humanitarian aid for Syria came from areas now themselves destroyed. 

"All the help which northwestern Syria area has been getting the last years has been mainly coming out from Gaziantep, which is now heavily affected itself," he said. "You have millions of people depending on humanitarian aid [for] years, and they are now struck with a disaster on top of it. So it's an emergency inside an emergency and with a way less prepared country, with way less resources."

'It's a daily redo – we need much more'

However, Lindmeier refuted the idea that aid workers cannot get access to Syria. 

"We actually reached already 16 hospitals to supply, because we do have a country office in Damascus and they are also negotiating on a daily basis with the authorities for access. Until recently, apparently, there was only one border crossing towards Türkiye open, but now there seem to be three border crossings open again. 

"So all a lot of work of the UN agencies is to negotiate the free access of material, help and goods. It's a daily redo of all the efforts. It's not impossible, it is happening, but we need much more."

The WHO is helping to marshal resources arriving from countries worldwide, including China. 

"We have emergency medical teams arriving and that can help with the clinical side of it. We have other partners who do the search and rescue, and it's a horrible picture of  trauma wounds, of shock wounds – and, of course, many people still under the rubble. And it's a run against time right now."

Even those safely pulled from the rubble face enormous problems, says Lindmeier.

"Those who have survived are now out of their buildings – because of all the hundreds of aftershocks, they're out in the cold winter and snow. They need tents, they need help, they need warm clothes, they need water, first of all."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited southern Türkiye on Wednesday to see first-hand the destruction wrought by a massive earthquake. The combined confirmed death toll from Monday's quake, which struck a swathe of southern Türkiye and neighboring Syria, rose to more than 11,200 people.

The tally was expected to rise as hundreds of collapsed buildings in many cities have become tombs for people who had been asleep in the homes when the quake hit in the early morning.

Many in the Turkish disaster zone had slept in their cars or in the streets under blankets, fearful of going back into buildings shaken by the magnitude-7.8 tremor, Türkiye's deadliest since 1999, and by a second powerful quake hours later.

A new magnitude-5.2 earthquake hit Türkiye on Wednesday at a depth of five kilometers, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center.

The death toll rose above 8,500 in Türkiye. In Syria, already devastated by 11 years of war, the confirmed toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.

Read more:

What caused the disastrous earthquake in Türkiye?

Expert: 'Golden 72 hours' rule may not apply in Türkiye earthquake

Erdogan arrives in earthquake-hit south

Erdogan, who has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and sent in troops to help, arrived in the city of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of two huge and deadly earthquakes, to view the damage and see the rescue and relief effort.

Speaking to reporters, with constant ambulance sirens in the background, Erdogan said there had been problems with roads and airports but that everything would get better by the day.

Turkish authorities say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 kilometers from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east.

Read more:

Search and rescue operations continue overnight in Maras, Türkiye

Türkiye's disaster management agency said the number of injured was above 38,000.

In Syria, it killed people as far south as Hama.

"It's now a race against time," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes."

'Under the rubble,' humanitarian relief work in Syria still blocked by U.S. sanctions

Aid officials voiced particular concern about the situation in Syria, where humanitarian needs were already greater than at any point since the eruption of a conflict is complicating relief efforts.

Rescue workers have struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads, poor weather and a lack of resources and heavy equipment. Some areas are without fuel and electricity.

Read more:

Running against time: Rescue operations in Syria

While Syria is struggling harder amid the earthquakes, the U.S. sanctions are still blocking humanitarian relief work in the country.

In a statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Syrians, while dealing with the earthquake catastrophe, are digging among rubble with bare hands or using the simplest tools, as the equipment for removing the rubble has been banned by the United States.

Read more:

Iran urges global pressure on U.S. to remove sanctions on quake-stricken Syria

China accuses U.S. of making Syria's humanitarian crisis worse

A rescue service operating in insurgent-held northwest Syria said the number of dead had climbed to more than 1,280 and more than 2,600 were injured.

Overnight, the Syrian health minister said the number of dead in government-held areas rose to 1,250, the state-run al-Ikhbariya news outlet reported on its Telegram feed. The number of wounded was 2,054, he said.

Countries pledge aid after powerful quakes

Many countries and global aid agencies are offering rescue teams and relief supplies to Türkiye and Syria.

More than 12,000 Turkish search and rescue personnel are working in the affected areas, along with 9,000 troops. More than 70 countries offered rescue teams and other aid.

An 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived at Adana Airport on Wednesday to assist in rescue efforts in the quake-hit areas in Türkiye after flying over 8,000 kilometers on a chartered plane.

"Upon arrival, the team will bring audio and video life detectors, medical equipment and rescue dogs to the disaster area and immediately start the search and rescue work," said Wang Mo, deputy head of the Chinese rescue team.

Read more:

Expert: Cold weather imposes challenges for rescuers in Türkiye, Syria

Türkiye-Syria quake: Erdogan declares state of emergency, death toll passes 7,800

Chinese resident in Türkiye on latest development of fatal disaster

(With input from agencies)

China has launched an emergency humanitarian assistance mechanism and will provide emergency aid to quake-hit Türkiye and Syria, said Deng Boqing, deputy head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

Deng made the remarks when he met with Turkish Ambassador to China and Syrian Ambassador to China respectively on Tuesday and Wednesday, to inform them of the emergency humanitarian assistance provided by China to the two countries.

Deng said that China will offer 40 million-yuan emergency aid to Türkiye, including heavy urban search and rescue teams, medical teams, and urgently needed disaster relief supplies, and it will provide 30 million-yuan emergency aid to Syria, including $2 million cash and urgently needed disaster relief supplies. 

China is also expediting the ongoing food aid program, with 220 tonnes of wheat on its way to Syria and the remaining 3,000 tonnes of rice and wheat to be delivered to the country in two batches, he added.

More than 11,000 people were killed and tens of thousands injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Türkiye and neighboring Syria early Monday.

Deng noted that the CIDCA will work closely with the relevant authorities in Türkiye and Syria to ensure that the above-mentioned assistance is implemented as soon as possible.

The Chinese government will continue to provide aid to the two countries within its capacity and in light of the evolving situation and actual needs, he stressed.

(Cover: Deputy head of China International Development Cooperation Agency Deng Boqing meets with Turkish Ambassador to China Abdulkadir Emin Onen in Beijing, China, February 7, 2023. /CIDCA)

China urges the U.S. to remove unilateral sanctions immediately on Syria and provide convenience for humanitarian assistance to the quake-hit Syrian regions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday that Syria has experienced years of war and turmoil, and was recently hit by a strong earthquake. It is facing a serious humanitarian crisis. The United Nations, the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies have called for emergency aid to help prevent the humanitarian situation in Syria from worsening.

The U.S. has been involved in the Syrian crisis for a long time with frequent military intervention and harsh economic sanctions, causing a large number of civilian casualties in Syria and making it difficult for people to obtain basic living guarantees, Mao said.

"Up to now, the U.S. military is still occupying the main oil producing areas of Syria, plundering more than 80 percent of the oil production, smuggling and burning Syrian food stocks, which are making the humanitarian crisis there worse," Mao said.

She stressed that in face of the earthquake, the U.S. should put aside its geopolitical obsession, and lift unilateral sanctions on Syria immediately, opening the door to international humanitarian assistance.

A strong magnitude-7.7 earthquake hit Türkiye on Monday and neighboring Syria. Official data shows that the death toll has risen above 11,200 on Wednesday, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors. Officials and medics said 8,574 people have died in Türkiye and more than 2,662 in Syria.

On Monday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a U.S.-based advocacy group, called for the "immediate" lifting of U.S. sanctions to facilitate the delivery of aid to Syria. 

However, the U.S. said it ruled out dealing directly with the Syrian government, saying it will deliver aid to Syria through nongovernmental organizations without engaging with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which the U.S. does not recognize as legitimate.

A new magnitude-5.2 earthquake hit central Türkiye on Wednesday at a depth of 5 kilometers, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria rose above 11,200 on Wednesday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

Officials and medics said 8,574 people have died in Türkiye and more than 2,662 in Syria, bringing the total to more than 11,236.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to  8,574, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.  

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye in the early hours of February 6, followed by a 7.8 aftershock at 1:24 p.m. Cities in southern Türkiye and northern Syria have been hit hard.

On February 8, CGTN Stringer traveled to Hatay province near the worst-hit areas and recorded the scene of a boy being saved from the rubble. Local residents and rescue workers applauded and cheered as the boy was rescued.

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria rose above 9,600 on Wednesday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

Officials and medics said 7,108 people have died in Türkiye and more than 2,542 in Syria, bringing the total to more than 9,650.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in the Pazarcik district of southern Kahramanmaras province after a series of high-magnitude earthquakes shook 10 provinces, leading to thousands of deaths and massive damage to homes and infrastructure, local media reported.

Türkiye's stock exchange halted trading of equities, futures and options on Wednesday after two major earthquakes triggered a deep selloff.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 7,108, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Wednesday.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 6,957, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on Wednesday.  

The earthquake that devastated the area of Türkiye and north-west Syria on Monday morning is believed to be the most severe one since the 1939 earthquake which struck the eastern part of Türkiye.

Following the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) determined that the epicenter was located at the intersection of three tectonic plates: the Arabian, Anatolian, and African plates. Under this circumstance, many believe such a huge earthquake represents the increasing activity of tectonic plate movement, and therefore worry about if this earthquake has any connection with the previous earthquakes that happened in China, including the 4.3-magnitude earthquake that happened near south China's Taiwan Province on February 7, and several small earthquakes happened in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Ji Jianqing, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University, shared his opinion about these doubts and worries.

Professor Ji indicated that the earthquakes which occurred in China recently are normal activities of tectonic plate movements, and there is no evidence showing that these earthquakes have any relation to the Türkiye 7.8-magnitude earthquake. He also pointed out that big earthquakes usually cause public misunderstandings of seismicity—the distribution of earthquakes in space, time and magnitude, might increase rapidly. However, frequent earthquakes cannot become the exact indicator to measure if the tectonic plate movements of the area become active or passive.

For more:

What caused the disastrous earthquake in Türkiye?

(Cover image via CFP)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)

Chinese scientists say the window to rescue those trapped by the earthquakes in Türkiye could be even shorter than expected, given the difficult local conditions.

The death toll in Türkiye from earthquakes in its south rose to 6,234 by Wednesday morning, the Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) said.

The agency said the number of those injured rose to 37,011, adding that more than 79,000 personnel were engaged in search and rescue operations.

The death toll from the massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria rose above 8,400 on Wednesday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

In Türkiye, officials said at least 5,894 people have died.

The Syrian health minister said the number of dead in government-held parts of the country now stood at 1,250, while the casualty toll in rebel-held areas has risen to more than 1,280 deaths on Wednesday. 

(With input from agencies)

Search and rescue efforts are underway to find more survivors and help the injured as the death toll has passed 7,800 in Türkiye and Syria after devastating earthquakes.

An 82-member team dispatched by the Chinese government arrived at Türkiye's Adana Airport on Wednesday to assist the quake-hit country in search and rescue operations.

The team comprises personnel from the Beijing Fire and Rescue Corps, the National Earthquake Response Support Service and the Emergency General Hospital in Beijing. It has also brought rescue equipment and supplies.

The rescue team will immediately start supplies unloading and transfer work, coordinate with the local government, the Chinese embassy in Türkiye and the relevant UN agencies, undertake the search and rescue mission based on the current situation, and set up camp at a safe and suitable location, said the team's head Zhao Ming.

The Chinese rescue team can conduct search and rescue operations in two different work sites at the same time, according to Wang Mo, the deputy captain of the team.

"Upon arrival, the team will head to the disaster area and start the search and rescue work with life detectors, medical equipment and rescue dogs," Wang added.

For more: Live: China Search and Rescue team reaches Adana, Türkiye

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 5,894, with 34,810 people injured, according to Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay.

In Syria, at least 1,250 were killed and 2,050 injured, said the Syrian Health Ministry. 

A Chinese rescue team is traveling to the site of Türkiye's earthquake to bolster the relief effort – and CGTN correspondent Cen Ziyuan is accompanying the mission, which left Beijing on a chartered aircraft overnight Tuesday.

The 82-member team consists of 50 members of the Beijing fire and rescue corps as well as others from the National Earthquake Response Support Service and the Emergency General Hospital in Beijing. It was dispatched by the Ministry of Emergency Management at the request of the Turkish government.

"We carry 13 tonnes of rescue equipment, including equipment for cutting concrete and steel bars, search and detection, and four rescue dogs, which can effectively help us carry out the mission," Bi Hongyi, head of the team, told the Xinhua news agency.

The death toll from the disaster has passed 5,000 with tens of thousands more in Türkiye and neighboring Syria left homeless in freezing winter conditions. 

Fu Jie, a member of the rescue team, said: "We have been preparing for the mission since Monday. We have collected information on the earthquake situation and rescue response from other countries, and have made urgent action plans."

A number of other non-governmental Chinese organizations have also sent teams to help support the relief and rescue operations.

The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria rose above 6,200 on Tuesday, official data showed, with rescue workers still searching for trapped survivors.

Authorities said 4,544 people have died in Türkiye and 1,712 in Syria, bringing the total to 6,256.

Turkish and Kurdish communities in Germany have launched donation drives to send money, warm clothes and blankets to victims of a devastating earthquake that tore through Türkiye and northwest Syria on Monday.

As news of the disaster spread and sparked frantic appeals for help, volunteers began collecting aid in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich for the thousands left injured or homeless after their homes were destroyed.

Germany has around 2.3 million people of Turkish origin, the largest Turkish diaspora community in the world, according to the Turkish Community in Germany.

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Levent Cukur has coordinated an aid drive in the boxing gym he runs in Munich.

"We didn't expect it to go this crazy, it's mad. We thought we would fill two vans and then send them off but it hasn't stopped since 10 this morning," says Cukur.

As he spoke, a group of people were loading boxes of donations onto trucks. The first batch is scheduled to leave for Türkiye on Thursday.

"It is currently very cold in the affected regions and people urgently need blankets, warm clothing and boots," said Tunca Karakas, a member of cultural association Tuerkisch-Deutscher Kreis.

Rescuers were still trying to save people trapped under rubble on Tuesday as the death toll from the earthquake passed 5,000.

"We are throwing ourselves into work," said Faruk Akalan, a representative in Germany of the Kurdish Red Crescent, which has already sent €250,000 ($268,000) to the affected regions.

'It's going to be a challenge'

"You can't say that 100 hours is the last chance. There is always a miracle in such an earthquake that someone does survive for a long time," Stephan Heinz, a dog handler, shared his hope of finding survivors under the rubble.

"If people are able to protect themselves from the cold in some way, if they have access to water, if they are not seriously injured, but are only buried they can survive for quite a long time." 

The Turkish Community in Germany is pointing the community to existing donation drives.

"Sending money is better than sending goods because people themselves know best what they need and can use the money to buy it," said group chairperson Gokay Sofuoglu.

"We really have to work very carefully, very prudently, in order to protect ourselves, and that is an enormous challenge," Timo Eilhardt, Chief Engineer Of German Agency For Technical Relief, explained the challenges that rescue workers face.

"The weather is not exactly playing into our hands either. It's quite cold down there, it's going to be sub-zero, at least overnight and that's going to be a challenge."

Türkiye President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency covering the 10 southern provinces hit by devastating earthquakes on Monday as winter weather hampers rescue efforts.

Erdogan has called the areas a disaster zone and says the move is designed to bolster rescue efforts by allowing him to "ensure that operations are carried out rapidly."

Declaring a state of emergency permits the president and cabinet to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.

The decision came as the death toll from Monday's two major earthquakes, which hit a wide area of Türkiye and Syria, exceeded 5,000 – including 4,544 in Türkiye alone – and as rescuers raced against time to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.

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As the recovery effort continues, with rescue teams arriving from all over the globe – including one from China, with CGTN's reporter on board – the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that rescuers have only a small window of time to find survivors.

"It's now a race against time," WHO General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes."

Authorities in Türkiye say more than 12,000 search and rescue personnel are working in the affected areas, along with 9,000 troops. Some 70 countries and sending personnel, equipment and aid.

But winter weather has hampered rescue and relief efforts and made the plight of the homeless even more miserable. Some areas are still without fuel and electricity.

And residents in several damaged Turkish cities have voiced their anger and despair at what they said was a slow and inadequate response from the authorities to the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1999.

"There is not even a single person here. We are under the snow, without a home, without anything," Murat Alinak, whose home in Malatya had collapsed and whose relatives are missing, told Reuters. "What shall I do, where can I go?"

But international aid teams have said the sheer scale of devastation has slowed down the response.

"The area is enormous. I haven't seen anything like this before," said Johannes Gust, from Germany's fire and rescue service, as he loaded equipment onto a truck at Türkiye's Adana airport.

At Türkiye's Iskenderun port, hundreds of shipping containers are ablaze, shutting down operations and forcing freight liners to divert vessels to other ports. The maritime authority said the fire was a result of earthquake damage.

In Malatya, where snow is thick on the ground, people have expressed their frustration at what they said was the lack of help as they searched for the missing.

With no specialist equipment or even gloves, they've tried to pick through the wreckage of homes crumpled by the force of the earthquake.

"My in-laws' grandchildren are there. We have been here for two days. We are devastated," said Sabiha Alinak.

"Where is the state? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can rescue them. We can do it with our means.

Erdogan has revealed that 70 countries have offered help in search and rescue operations and that Türkiye planned to open up hotels in the tourism hub of Antalya, to the west, to temporarily house people impacted by the quakes.

Rescuers raced on Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by two large earthquakes and multiple aftershocks that struck Türkiye and neighboring Syria on Monday, with the discovery of more bodies raising the death toll to more than 7,800.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for three months in ten provinces. The death toll in the country alone has risen to 5,894.

Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, and Türkiye's disaster management agency said more than 24,400 emergency personnel were now on the ground. But with such a wide swath of territory hit by Monday's earthquakes and nearly 6,000 buildings confirmed to have collapsed in Türkiye alone, the efforts were spread thin.

Read more:

Live: Rescue efforts underway after powerful earthquakes jolt Türkiye

Chinese rescue team departs for earthquake-stricken areas in Türkiye

Attempts to reach survivors were also impeded by temperatures below freezing and close to 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.

Across Hatay province, just southwest of the earthquake's epicenter, officials say as many as 1,500 buildings were destroyed and many people reported relatives being trapped under the rubble with no aid or rescue teams arriving.

In areas where teams worked, occasional cheers broke out through the night as survivors were brought out of the rubble.

The quake, which was centered in Türkiye's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.

Sebastien Gay, the head of mission in Syria for Doctors Without Borders, said health facilities in northern Syria were overwhelmed with medical personnel working around "around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded."

In Türkiye's Hatay province, thousands of people sheltered in sports centers or fair halls, while others spent the night outside, huddled in blankets around fires.

Türkiye has large numbers of troops in the border region with Syria and has tasked the military to aid in the rescue efforts, including setting up tents for the homeless and a field hospital in Hatay province. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said a humanitarian aid brigade based in Ankara and eight military search and rescue teams had also been deployed.

Read more:

What caused the disastrous earthquake in Türkiye?

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A navy ship docked on Tuesday at the province's port of Iskenderun, where a hospital collapsed, to transport survivors in need of medical care to the nearby city of Mersin. Thick, black smoke rose from another area of the port, where firefighters have not yet been able to douse a fire that broke out among shipping containers that were toppled by the quakes.

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 33 kilometers from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over to 800 people, with some 1,400 injured, according to the health ministry. In the country's rebel-held northwest, at least 790 were killed and more than 2,200 injured.

Authorities fear the death toll will keep climbing as the rescuers look for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria's 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

In the latest pledges of international help, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it was especially concerned about areas of Türkiye and Syria.

"We're especially concerned about areas where we do not yet have information," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the WHO's executive board meeting in Geneva. "Damage mapping is one way to understand where we need to focus our attention."

Read more:

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The quake piled more misery on a region that has seen tremendous suffering over the past decade. On the Syrian side, the affected area is divided between government-controlled territory and the country's last opposition-held enclave. Türkiye is home to millions of refugees from the Syrian civil war.

Strained medical centers quickly filled with injured people, rescue workers said. Some facilities had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

More than 7,800 people were rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, an official with Türkiye's disaster management authority.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Türkiye in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday's quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers. Hours later, another quake, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometers away with a magnitude of 7.5 .

The second jolt caused a multistory apartment building in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa to topple onto the street in a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, as seen in a video of the scene.

Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama to Türkiye's Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers to the northeast.

(With input from agencies)

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Türkiye in the early hours of the morning local time, and a second major quake measuring 7.8 struck the same area at 1:24 p.m. Cities in southern Türkiye and northern Syria have been hit hard. CGTN Stringer Neyran Elden drove overnight to Adana, a city near the worst-hit areas, to record what she saw. For Elden, the journey to the quake-hit areas was arduous, and she had to change her travel plans several times due to the heavy snow. When she arrived in Adana, the scene was also very touching. Elden will continue to report on the earthquakes.

Sitting on the hotbed of Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, or Alpine belt, which is known as the second most seismically active region in the world, Türkiye has experienced many earthquakes.

The epicenter and affected areas this time lie at the intersection of three tectonic plates, the Arabian, the Anatolian and the African plates. As these plates  push against each other, a 7.8-earthquake is "generally expected on long, plate-boundary strike-slip faults," according to the USGS.

Some believe that the event is related to increasing activity along the seismic belt, however, Ji Jianqing, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University, said it's because "the energy accumulated from plates' movement has reached the threshold for a strong earthquake, and the energy release is a result of long-time accumulation. There's no evidence showing that the Meizoseismal area (an earthquake in the area of maximum damage) has entered an active period."

Read more: What caused the disastrous earthquake in Türkiye?

- The death toll in Türkiye has risen to 3,549 after powerful quakes hit the country on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

- Erdogan declared the 10 provinces affected by the devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye disaster zones, imposing a state of emergency in the region for three months.

Up to 23 million people could be affected by massive earthquakes that has killed thousands in Türkiye and Syria, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday.

"Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million in vulnerable populations," WHO Senior Emergency Officer Adelheid Marschang told the UN health agency's executive committee.

More than 4,000 people have been killed after two massive earthquakes of magnitude-7.8 and 7.7 rocked Türkiye and Syria on February 6. The two powerful earthquakes struck the same region on the same day. Professor Yang Hongfeng from the Earth System Science Programme in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says this is a rare occurrence in inland region.
 

China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) on Tuesday announced emergency assistance for Türkiye and Syria after strong earthquakes shook the countries on Monday.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday that the death toll from the earthquakes centered in southeastern Türkiye rose to 3,419, bringing the total including those killed in Syria to more than 5,000.

Speaking to reporters, Oktay said severe weather conditions made it difficult to bring aid to the affected regions and conduct rescues. He said only rescue and aid vehicles were being allowed to enter or leave Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman, three of the most impacted provinces.

The Chinese government sent an 82-member rescue team with equipment and supplies to join earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye on Tuesday afternoon.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 812 after powerful quakes hit the southern part of neighboring Türkiye on Monday, with another 1,449 injured, the Syrian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

A new magnitude-5.2 earthquake hit Türkiye on Tuesday at a depth of 20 kilometers, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The death toll from two powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 3,381, according to the country's disaster agency on Tuesday. 

The death toll in Syria has risen to 769 after powerful quakes hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday, with another 1,448 injured, the Syrian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

The data was collected mainly from the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartus, and the countryside of Idlib.

China has activated its emergency humanitarian assistance mechanism to provide immediate aid to Türkiye and Syria, Deng Boqing, deputy head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, told CMG on Tuesday.

Multiple earthquakes have jolted Türkiye since Monday, killing over 4,300 people in the country and the neighboring Syria.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 764 after powerful quakes hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 1,448 injured, the country's health ministry said.

The death toll has risen to at least 2,921 after destructive earthquakes hit Kahramanmaras Province in Türkiye. Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.7 and magnitude 7.6, respectively, jolted Kahramanmaras, leaving nearly 15,000 others injured and collapsing over 3,470 buildings. Many buildings in Adana sustained serious damage, especially high-rises. Residents in dangerous buildings have been evacuated. Over 100 aftershocks have been reported, making it more difficult for the rescue work.

A new magnitude-5.3 earthquake hit central Türkiye on Tuesday at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).

Editor's note: Bradley Blankenship is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst and freelance reporter. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On February 6, a terrible earthquake occurred in Türkiye and Syria, claiming over 3,000 lives. The international community has been quick to offer its condolences and assistance – but these gestures have been marred by geopolitics.

For example, the European Commission tweeted, "A powerful earthquake struck Türkiye overnight, also impacting neighbouring Syria." It went on that rescue teams from over 10 countries have been mobilized to help Türkiye "following its request to activate the #EUCivPro Mechanism." An accompanying video briefly mentioned Syria at the end as part of its "ongoing humanitarian assistance" – but only serving as an afterthought.

U.S. President Joe Biden said, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance."

Here we can see that Biden mentioned Syria but failed to offer any rescue and support, showing that the dehumanization of Syrians through war and sanctions continues on. The U.S. continues to illegally military occupy Syria and regularly steals the country's vital oil.

I spoke to a Syrian journalist friend, Majd Fahd, about the response to his country's plight from the West. "So far, Germany and Spain have offered assistance to Syria. Nonetheless, the country is in critical condition nowadays because of the sanctions [imposed by the West]. I guess now is the time to lift the unjust blockade imposed on Syria as soon as possible. Sanctions only impact average people," he said.

That's a sentiment I find hard to disagree with. Sanctions are only starving ordinary people there and making humanitarian aid during disastrous earthquakes more challenging to come by. When tragedy strikes our fellow humans, our natural inclination is to help. The sanctions imposed by the West undermine the essential human will for compassion. They dehumanize Syrians. 

And what's most sinister about this situation is that it can be argued that nearly a decade of war is, in practice, less devastating for the country than the newest round of U.S. sanctions. In fact, that is troublesome while even neighboring Lebanon has become destabilized due in no small part to the ongoing events in Syria. 

My friend Majd added, "the U.S. and NATO are delivering billions of dollars in heavy weapons to keep the war raging in Ukraine but can't muster any humanitarian aid for Syria." Again, it's hard to argue with that. For Western countries to assist Syria and would be a drop in the bucket to what is spent to keep the collective war machine alive and yet these countries can't break the cycle.

But, just because the West has abandoned Syria does not mean the international community at large has done so. On the opposite hand, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry made another statement. According to them, "President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad respectively over the deadly earthquake in Türkiye and Syria."

Media reports in China suggest that Beijing would support both countries. Xu Wei, the spokesman for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, was quoted as saying, "China is willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in accordance with the needs of earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria." 

China is demonstrating its commitment to south-south cooperation and peaceful development. The country would help any country at any time when the need arises, and without political strings attached. China doesn't impose illegal unilateral sanctions, doesn't launch regime change operations or stage proxy wars. Actually, China hasn't been involved in any war for several decades. 

These deep-seated values are reflected in China's actions today with regard to Türkiye and Syria. Beijing can help both countries, which are linguistically, culturally and politically different, while paying them both respect and maintaining their humanity.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.) 

Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under construction, was not damaged by a major earthquake that struck central Türkiye and northwest Syria on Monday, said an official from the Russian company building the plant.

"Earth tremors of about magnitude 3 were felt here... but our specialists have not revealed any damage to building structures, cranes and equipment," said Anastasia Zoteeva from Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom.

"Nevertheless, we are carrying out extensive diagnostic measures to make sure that construction and installation operations can continue safely," the RIA news agency quoted her as saying.

Read More: 

Death toll rises to 2,300 and counting after two earthquakes rock Türkiye and Syria

The death toll has risen to 2,921 after two powerful earthquakes hit southern Türkiye on Monday, taking the number of casualties in the country and war-wrecked neighboring Syria to over 4,300.

A staggering 15,834 others were injured, Anadolu News Agency reported, citing Turkish disaster agency.

In neighboring Syria, at least 711 were killed and 1,431 injured in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, said the Syrian Health Ministry. Media reports also cited rescue workers as saying that 733 were killed and over 2,100 injured in the rebel-held region in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a seven-day national mourning following the deadly earthquakes that took place in Türkiye on Monday.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 2,379, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said, adding that 14,483 others were injured.

Oktay said 7,840 people have been rescued from rubbles so far as 11,022 search and rescue teams work in the field.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported late on Monday that the death toll in Syria following the earthquakes rose to 711, with 1,431 people injured.

Several earthquakes, the largest measuring magnitude 7.8, have killed more than 2500 people in Turkiye near the border with Syria. The death toll will likely rise. The international community has offered condolences and help, including China, the UN, NATO, and the U.S. Check out the latest.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.

More than 2,300 people are dead and countless thousands injured after several earthquakes, the most powerful measuring 7.8 magnitude, struck a region near the Turkiye-Syria border. See some of the harrowing scenes of the earthquakes aftermath and the massive rescue efforts underway. 

After a devastating earthquake, the death toll will likely increase due to aftershocks after buildings have already been weakened, sometimes as much as eight times the initial numbers, says Catherine Smallwood, Europe’s Senior Emergency Officer for the WHO. 

In Syria, the impact of the earthquake will likely exacerbate the suffering of many who have lived through more than a 10 years of Syria's civil war and refugee crisis. Millions of Syrian refugees also live in Türkiye.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed his profound sadness over the extensive loss of life caused by strong earthquakes in southern Türkiye and northern Syria.

"I was deeply saddened to hear of the extensive loss of life caused by the earthquake which affected southern Türkiye and northern Syria earlier today," said a statement released by the spokesman for the secretary-general.

More than 1,600 people were killed and thousands of others were injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Türkiye and northwest of Syria early Monday.

"My heart goes out to the people of Türkiye and Syria in this hour of tragedy. I send my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," said the top UN official.

Guterres underscored the United Nations' full commitment to supporting the response, adding that UN teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance.

"We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge," he added.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 461 after powerful quakes hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 1,326 injured, the country's health ministry said.

There's no impact from earthquakes on nuclear safety and security in Türkiye after Monday's earthquakes, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) citing Türkiye's nuclear regulatory authority.

"No issues so far related to radiological safety & security of radioactive sources, & the country's under construction nuclear power plant is unaffected," IAEA said. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed condolences over quakes that hit Türkiye and Syria on Monday.

"I am deeply saddened by the news of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye & Syria, and offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. The @UN stands ready to support emergency response efforts," the UN chief said in a tweet.

The death toll in two powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 1,498, Turkish disaster agency said. 

The death toll in two powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 1,121, Turkish disaster agency said. 

The death toll in Syria has risen to 430 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 1,315 injured, the country's health ministry said.

The death toll in two powerful earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday has risen to 1,014, with some 2,824 buildings destroyed, the head of the disaster and emergencies management agency (AFAD) Yunus Sezer said.

Meanwhile, Syrian health department said the country's death toll has soared to 403 with 1,284 others injured. 

The Chinese government is maintaining communication with relevant departments from Türkiye and Syria and is ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance according to their needs, a spokesperson with China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) said, after deadly earthquakes on Monday left nearly 1,300 dead in the two countries.

(Cover: A view of demolished building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Hatay, Turkiye, February 6, 2023. /CFP)

Syria's Baniyas oil refinery will suspend operations for 48 hours following a deadly earthquake in Türkiye, state news agency SANA reported on Monday citing an oil ministry statement. 

Powerful earthquakes on Monday have claimed nearly 1,300 lives in Türkiye and Syria as a second major quake struck Türkiye on Monday afternoon.

According to Syrian health ministry, 371 people were confirmed dead while 1,089 others injured.

In Türkiye, 912 people were killed and over 5,000 others injured, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as toll likely to rise further.

The first earthquake occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT), followed by several aftershocks.

At around 1:24 p.m. (1024 GMT), a 7.6-magnitude quake struck southeastern Türkiye's Kahramanmaras region with a depth of 7 kilometers, local disaster agency said. 

The death toll in Syria has risen to 326 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye, with another 1,042 injured, citing the country's health ministry. As the deaths were reported in the most affected province of Aleppo in northern Syria, CGTN stringer visits Aleppo to witness how the rescue operations are underway amid massive damage.

More than 2,300 people have been killed after an earthquake devastated an area of central Türkiye and north-west Syria in the early hours of Monday morning. The earthquake struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) and was measured at a magnitude of 7.8, reducing buildings to rubble as people slept in their beds and sparking a desperate search for survivors. 

Experts say the epicenter of the earthquake was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, 90 kilometers from the Syrian border, but millions of people in Türkiye, Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus felt its force and the subsequent aftershocks.

Türkiye's AFAD, The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, confirmed a second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck after 10:30 GMT with the city of Kahramanmaras at its epicenter. 

Kahramanmaras is situated 90 kilometers north of Gaziantep but it's not yet known the full extent of the damage caused by the second quake.

It's now been confirmed that more than 1,500 people have been killed in Türkiye alone, while a further 5,383 people have been wounded. He added that 2,818 buildings have collapsed. The death toll in Syria now stands at 810, according to news agency AFP.

In a short statement on Twitter, Türkiye's President Recep Erdogan said: "I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake."

A woman living in an apartment block that was reduced to rubble in the southern city of Diyabakir described the devastation to Reuters: "We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them."

In response to the earthquake, Türkiye's government has closed schools across 10 cities for a week, while airports in Hatay, Maras, and Antep have been closed or partially closed. Political leaders across the U.S., Asia, and Europe have sent messages of support and pledged international assistance. 

The British foreign ministry says it will send 76 search and rescue specialists, four search dogs and rescue equipment that will arrive in Türkiye on Monday evening. The European Union has also dispatched search and rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania to help.

China's State Aid Foreign Agency has also vowed to provide humanitarian emergency aid to both countries.

WATCH LOUISE GREENWOOD'S REPORT ON THE EARTHQUAKES

However, there are fears that weather conditions in Türkiye over the coming days could hamper the rescue operation. 

Heavy rain is expected around the region of the first quake, while temperatures will be only 3-4 degrees Celsius during the day and well below freezing at night.

Around 3-5 centimeters of snow is also set to fall, while further north in Turkey, heavier snow is expected.

It was Türkiye's most severe quake since 1999, when one of similar magnitude devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

The location of the earthquake is a vulnerable region called the East Anatolian fault, which runs south-west to north-west of the south-eastern border of Türkiye.

Seismologists have previously warned of the dangers of the fault line, but there hasn't been a significant earthquake for more than 100 years.

Video editing: Butchy Davy

A magnitude-7.6 earthquake jolted Elbistan district in south Türkiye's Kahramanmaras province on Monday afternoon, according to the country's disaster agency.

There is currently no tsunami threat that will affect our coasts in the Eastern Mediterranean, the agency said.

An earthquake that hit earlier in the morning killed over 1,000 people in Türkiye and neighboring Syria.

Tremors were also felt in Syria, including capital Damascus, state media reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye said on Monday that the magnitude-7.7 earthquake on Monday has killed 912 people and injured 5,383.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 326 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 1,042 injured, the country's health ministry said.  

The death toll in Syria has risen to 248 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 700 injured, the country's health ministry said. 

The death toll in Syria has risen to 239 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 648 injured, Al Jazeera reported, citing the country's health ministry.

The deaths were reported in the most affected province of Aleppo in northern Syria, the northwestern coastal province of Latakia, Tartus and central Hama province, said a statement issued by the health ministry.

Rescue operations are underway amid massive damage.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense put all its units on high alert to help the people directly affected by the earthquake and rescue those still stuck under the rubble. 

The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced earlier the suspension of train traffic on all railways as a precautionary measure, pending inspection of bridges and tracks of the railway network.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held an emergency meeting with his cabinet to discuss the repercussions of the earthquake.

A major earthquake of magnitude 7.4 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Türkiye and northern Syria on Monday, killing over 500 people as buildings collapsed across the region. The earthquake was also felt across Lebanon.

(Cover: A destroyed building after an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, February 6, 2023. /CFP)

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed condolences to victims of a powerful earthquake that left hundreds of people dead in Türkiye and Syria. 

Speaking at a regular news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning expressed deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families.

According to Mao, there have been no casualties of any Chinese nationals reported so far.

A powerful earthquake that struck Türkiye on Monday has killed at least 284 people and injured more than 2,300 others in the country, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay told a news conference.

He said 70 people were killed in the province of Kahramanmaras, where the epicenter was located, along with 20 in Osmaniye, 18 in Sanliurfa, 14 in Diyarbakir and 13 in Adiyaman.

(With input from agencies) 

Türkiye's disaster agency said 76 people were killed and 440 others injured in an earthquake that hit the country on Monday, with officials warning the death toll is expected to rise. CGTN's correspondent Michal Bardavid has the latest reports from Istanbul.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 237 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 639 injured, local media outlets said.

A gas pipeline in Türkiye's Hatay province exploded following a powerful earthquake in the south of the country, local media reported.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 111 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 516 injured, the country's health ministry said.

The death toll in Syria has risen to 99 after a powerful quake hit the country and the southern part of Türkiye on Monday morning, with another 334 injured, local media outlets said.

Türkiye's disaster agency said 76 people were killed and 440 others injured in an earthquake that hit the country on Monday, with officials warning the death toll is expected to rise.

Moreover, at least 42 people were killed and more than 200 others injured in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia regions as a result of the earthquake, according to Syrian state media.

The Chinese embassy in Türkiye said no casualties have been reported among Chinese citizens after a powerful quake hit the southern part of the country on Monday morning.

At least 42 people were killed and more than 200 others injured in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia regions as a result of the earthquake that hit Türkiye on Monday, according to Syrian state media.

The death toll in Türkiye has climbed to 43 and over 400 people were injured in the quake. 

At least 20 people died and more than 100 people were injured in a major earthquake that struck Türkiye on Monday, according to the country's interior minister.

A powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Türkiye on Monday. The CENC and the USGS recorded the magnitude at 7.8, while the local Disaster and Emergency Management Authority reported it was a magnitude-7.4 earthquake.

At least 15 people were killed in Türkiye after an earthquake shook the country on Monday, officials said.

Five deaths were reported in Osmaniye Province and 10 in Sanliurfa Province, which sits near Türkiye's border with Syria.

Six people were killed in the collapse of residential buildings in the countryside of Syria's Aleppo and Idlib due to the earthquake, Al Jazeera reported, citing medical sources, though there has been no official confirmation.

The Turkish interior minister said the priority is to reach people under rubble.

Three aftershocks of over magnitude-5.0 were recorded within half an hour of the earthquake, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The tremors were also felt in other southeastern provinces, including Diyarbakir and Gaziantep, and neighboring countries, including Lebanon and Syria.

The China Earthquake Networks Center and the U.S. Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 7.8, while the local Disaster and Emergency Management Authority reported it was a magnitude-7.4 earthquake. 

The epicenter was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometers, the authorities said. 

A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck Türkiye with an epicenter in the Pazarcik district of southern Kahramanmaras province on Monday, the country's disaster agency said. Other international agencies put the magnitude at 7.8. Local media said there were multiple aftershocks, and there have been no reports of casualties so far.

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake jolted central Türkiye on Monday, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

There have been 13 earthquakes of over magnitude 6.0 this year globally. The magnitude of Monday's earthquake in Türkiye was the highest.