The death toll in the Turkey and Syria earthquake has risen to 50,000: dire expectations of the United Nations Relief Coordinator | world News

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UN Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told Sky News that the death toll from the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria will “double or exceed” from its current level of 28,000. “I think it’s hard to estimate accurately because we need to stay under the rubble, but I’m sure it will double or increase,” Martin Griffiths said upon arrival in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the first quake.

Read more: Turkey earthquake: Teen takes this extreme step to survive under rubble for 94 hours

“We haven’t really started counting the dead,” he said.

“Soon, search and rescue operations will give way to humanitarian agencies whose mission is to take care of the huge numbers of those affected for the coming months,” he added.

While the official death toll from the earthquake now stands at 24,617 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria, tens of thousands of rescue workers continued to search for survivors in the rubble.

The United Nations earlier warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria, and as many as 5.3 million people may have been left homeless in Syria alone, AFP reported.

Read more: For 129 hours, 5 families in Turkey were trapped under rubble, and they were rescued

While the World Health Organization (WHO) said that nearly 26 million people have been affected by the quake, it launched an urgent appeal for $42.8 million to meet immediate health needs in the two countries.

Turkey’s disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organizations are working in the search and rescue effort while 8,294 international rescue workers are assisting in the effort.

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