Turkey-Syria earthquake: Freezing weather adds to despair as quake toll passes 20,000

More than 20,000 radical are present known to person been killed successful Monday's earthquakes successful Turkey and Syria, though the UN warns the disaster's afloat grade is inactive unclear.

Rescuers are inactive searching rubble for survivors, but hopes are fading astir 100 hours since the tremors struck.

Freezing conditions endanger the lives of thousands of survivors who are present without shelter, h2o and food.

Turkey's president called the quake "the catastrophe of the century".

A large planetary alleviation effort is gathering pace. On Thursday the World Bank pledged $1.78bn successful assistance to Turkey including contiguous concern for rebuilding basal infrastructure and to enactment those affected by the earthquakes.

But the efforts of 100,000 oregon much rescue unit connected the crushed are being hampered by a fig of logistical hurdles including conveyance shortages and devastated roads.

UN main Antonio Guterres warned the afloat grade of the catastrophe was inactive "unfolding earlier our eyes", particularly successful Syria wherever a long-running civilian warfare has devastated the country.

On Thursday, the archetypal UN humanitarian assistance crossed the borderline into north-western Syria done Idlib's Bab al-Hawa crossing. The crossing is the lone mode UN assistance tin scope the portion without travelling done areas controlled by Syrian authorities forces.

Mr Guterres promised much assistance was connected its mode and helium urged the UN Security Council to let supplies to beryllium delivered done much than 1 borderline crossing.

"This is the infinitesimal of unity, it's not a infinitesimal to politicise oregon to disagreement but it is evident that we request monolithic support," helium said.

Munira Mohammad, a parent of 4 who fled Aleppo aft the quake, told Reuters that they were successful hopeless request of heating and much supplies, saying: "last nighttime we couldn't slumber due to the fact that it was truthful cold. It is precise bad."

The White Helmets rescue radical said the lone UN convoy that reached the portion did not incorporate specialised instrumentality to escaped radical trapped beneath the rubble.

"This makes america precise disappointed astatine a clip erstwhile we are hopeless for specified instrumentality to assistance america prevention lives from nether the rubble," the radical said connected Twitter.

Officials said connected Thursday that 17,134 radical had died successful Turkey and the decease toll was astatine slightest 3,162 successful Syria. The toll surpasses the much than 17,000 killed erstwhile a akin quake deed northwest Turkey successful 1999.

Tens of thousands of radical crossed Turkey and Syria are spending a 4th nighttime taking refuge from bitter temperatures successful makeshift shelters having been made stateless by the quakes.

Resat Gozlu, a subsister successful south-eastern Turkey who is present surviving connected the level of a sports analyzable with his family, said rescue workers did not get until 3 days aft the quake.

He said galore stay trapped nether the rubble and others died of hypothermia.

"If this continues determination could beryllium superior wellness issues and illness," helium told the BBC.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned a 2nd humanitarian catastrophe volition onslaught unless survivors tin get entree to shelter, food, h2o and medicine "very fast".

The WHO's Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, told the BBC the organisation's unit successful Turkey's Gaziantep person to slumber successful cars due to the fact that "there's inactive hundreds and hundreds of aftershocks".

Dr Kluge said communities successful Syria beryllium connected h2o reservoirs, which were the archetypal to fall. He said the reservoirs request to beryllium replaced oregon the state faces cholera outbreaks - which helium said was an contented earlier the earthquake.