Rescuers search for survivors after an earthquake in the ruins of a house in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, February 9, 2023.
Ankara – Rescue workers in Turkey and Syria are still finding survivors under the rubble of buildings on the third day after the devastating earthquake, but they warn that the hope of rescuing the buried people is diminishing every hour. In the province of Kahramanmaraş today, after 78 hours in the rubble of the house, a mother with two children got out, who were rescued by rescuers for 15 hours, the DPA agency reported. However, this success is rather rare, on the contrary, the number of victims continues to increase.
Advertisement'; }
Photo Gallery: Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
In Turkey, according to the latest data from the authorities, at least 12,873 people have died due to the earthquake, on the Syrian side there are still 3,162 confirmed victims.
“We are in a critical phase … We are running out of time, hundreds of families are still under the rubble. Every second can mean saving a life,” the opposition Syrian Civil Defense Organization, also known as the White Helmets, wrote on Twitter.
Experts warn that the chances of survivals buried more than 70 hours after Monday's tremors are substantially reduced. The very cold weather also plays a role, meaning many buried die of hypothermia.
“The first 72 hours are crucial. The chance of survival is 74 percent in the first 24 hours, 22 percent after 72 hours and on the fifth day it's six percent,” Steven Godby, an expert on natural disasters at Britain's University of Nottingham, told Sky News.
