Hundred hours since the disastrous earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, the death toll has crossed 21,000. Though rescue operations are still in full swing, the hopes of finding survivors under the rubble have faded due to the extreme temperature and logistical hurdles.
While at least 3,377 people were killed in Syria (2,030 in rebel-held areas and 1,347 deaths in government-controlled parts), Turkey pegs the death rate at 17,674.
Amid mounting despair, the rescue of a two-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, raised the spirits. Other reports say a mother and her six-year-old daughter have also been rescued from a collapsed house in the city of Kahramanmaraş on Thursday. A family of three, including two brothers and their mother, were also rescued in Pazarcik in Kahramanmaras province.
But, since then, the temperature has plummeted. Freezing conditions and unavailability of water and food have lowered the chances of finding survivors from the mountain of debris.
Miserable situation
As the first convoy of UN aid for victims of Monday’s earthquake crosses into northwest Syria, the situation in many rebel-held areas continues to be miserable.
The Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said they have been working nonstop for more than 90 hours "in very difficult circumstances," to rescue people trapped under rubble. They said they would continue rescue operations in the affected areas of opposition-controlled northern Syria though the hope of finding survivors is now "fading."
The impacted areas include the countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria and the countryside of Idlib in northeastern Syria.
The situation in rebel-held north-west Syria was reportedly "miserable" as people are struggling "out in the open in worsening and horrific conditions" with water, fuel and electricity supplies severely disrupted.
"We are in real danger of seeing a secondary disaster which may cause harm to more people than the initial disaster if we don’t move with the same pace and intensity as we are doing on the search and rescue side," Robert Holden, the WHO’s incident response manager, told Guardian.
The UN has promised more help, with a warning that without quick help, tens of thousands of people living in the open could be under threat from the harsh conditions, and with the death toll likely to rise significantly higher.
"This is the moment of unity, it's not a moment to politicise or to divide but it is obvious that we need massive support," UN chief Antonio Guterres has said.
However, the White Helmets rescue group has said the only UN convoy that reached the region did not contain specialised equipment to free people trapped beneath the rubble. "This makes us very disappointed at a time when we are desperate for such equipment to help us save lives from under the rubble," the group said on Twitter.