The toll of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday already exceeds 17,000 deaths, authorities and medical sources said this Thursday.
At least 14,014 people died in Turkey and 3,162 in Syria, the same sources said, bringing the total number of fatalities to 17,100, while operations continue, in extreme cold, to try to find survivors. In the two countries hit by the earthquake, more than 58,000 people were injured, many with fractures and other serious injuries.
More than 72 hours after the earthquake, the period with the greatest possibility of finding survivors, the authorities fear a dramatic increase in the number of fatalities due to the high number of people who, they estimate, are still trapped in the rubble.
After the initial shock, dissatisfaction is growing among the population with the authorities’ response to the earthquake, which, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted, had “shortcomings”.
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