Turkey ends rescue efforts in all but two quake-hit provinces | Turkey and Syria earthquake 2023

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Turkey said rescue teams had halted rescue efforts in all but the two worst-hit provinces, two weeks after the catastrophic earthquake devastated parts of the country.

“In many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed. They are continuing in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay provinces,” Disaster Relief Agency Chief Yunus Sezer said during a press conference in Ankara.

However, efforts will continue in the cities of Antakya and Kemarmaraş, which were rendered largely uninhabitable by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 41,000 people in southern Turkey and at least 4,000 more in neighboring Syria.

The epicenter was in the Pazardik district of Kahramanmaraş, where thousands of buildings collapsed and much of the city lay in ruins.

Sezer said search and rescue efforts continued for about 40 county buildings, but he expected that number to drop by Sunday night. In Antakya, rescue teams continued to clear the rubble over the weekend, rescuing a man and a woman who had been alive for 13 days. The couple’s three children died.

Large teams of lifeguards remained on standby, but were largely confined to tent bases in parks near the city centre, which has been at the heart of a controversial building boom that has seen a slew of buildings rapidly erected over the past two decades.

Hopes of finding more survivors are near zero, as officials now grapple with how to repair the devastation that has forced millions of people from their homes. Many have taken refuge in neighboring towns and cities, as international aid efforts that were slow at first are now ramping up.

Britain’s development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, arrived in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Sunday to inspect post-earthquake aid projects funded by Britain, which cost more than £34 million.

“As this evolving situation heads into a new phase of rescue to recovery, I have seen firsthand the incredible efforts on the ground in the field hospital, where British medical teams provide lives, including those rescued from the rubble.

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“The British public’s response to the Disaster and Emergency Committee’s appeal, which has now reached £88 million, underscores the UK’s strong support for rescue and recovery after this tragic event.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Saturday that some 105,000 buildings either collapsed, had to be demolished, or were badly damaged in the quake.

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