Turkey-Syria earthquake toll surpasses 46,000, Ankara to stop rescue efforts on Sunday night

The death toll in the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria has surpassed the 46,000 mark, even as rescue operations continuein full swing. It is estimated that the death toll is expected to soar further in the coming days.According to authorities, the death toll in Turkey stands at 40,642 while neighbouring Syria has reported more than 5,800 deaths, a figure that has not changed for days.

The February 6 quake has not only claimed thousands of lives but also destroyed 3,45,000 apartments in Turkey alone as the countries try to restore normalcy from its worst modern disaster.

Yunus Sezer, the chief of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), said the search and rescue efforts would largely be terminated on Sunday night.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is pressuring authorities in the northwest of Turkey to stop blocking access to the area as it seeks to help hundreds of thousands of people ravaged by the earthquakes.

Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Three people rescued alive after 12 days in Turkey

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, WFP Director David Beasley said the Syrian and Turkish governments had been cooperating very well, but that its operations were being hampered in northwestern Syria.

"The problems we are running into [are with] the cross-line operations into northwest Syria where the northwestern Syrian authorities are not giving us the access we need," said Beasley.

"That is bottlenecking our operations. That has to get fixed straight away."

Meanwhile, in war-ravaged Syria, the bulk of fatalities have been in the northwest.

The area is controlled by insurgents at war with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad which has complicated efforts to get aid to people.

Thousands of Syrians who had sought refuge in Turkey from the civil warhave returnedto their homes in the war zone.

Medical aid

Medics and experts have expressed concerns over the possible spread of infection in the area where tens of thousands of buildings collapsed last week leaving sanitation infrastructure damaged.

On Saturday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that despite a rise in infections, primarily of intestinal and upper respiratory track, no serious threat to public health has been found.

"Our priority now is to fight against the conditions that can threaten public health and to prevent infectious diseases," Koca told a news conference in southern Hatay province.

(With inputs from agencies)

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