- A 51-member Pakistani rescue team had been dispatched to Istanbul.
- About 5,600 buildings have been destroyed.
- World Health Organization officials predict that up to 20,000 people may have died.
HATAY, Turkey – Rescuers in Turkey and Syria dug with their bare hands through the chilly night on Tuesday, searching for survivors among the rubble of thousands of houses destroyed by a series of powerful earthquakes.
The reported death toll in both nations has risen to more than 4,800 following a swarm of severe tremors along the Turkey-Syria border, the greatest of which registered a staggering 7.8 magnitude.
Meanwhile, federal minister Saad Rafique announced on Twitter that a 51-member Pakistani rescue team had been dispatched to Istanbul.
According to Turkish and Syrian disaster response teams, about 5,600 buildings have been destroyed across numerous cities, including many multi-story apartment buildings that were full of sleeping occupants when the first quake occurred.
Eyewitnesses in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras struggled to fathom the magnitude of the calamity.
“We thought it was the apocalypse,” said Melisa Salman, a 23-year-old reporter. “That was the first time we have ever experienced anything like that.”
Turkey’s rescue agency AFAD reported 2,921 deaths on Tuesday, raising the total number of confirmed deaths to 4,365.
Residents in the Syrian village of Besnia, close to the Turkish border, search for fatalities and survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings.
There are fears that the death toll will continue to increase inexorably, with World Health Organization officials predicting that up to 20,000 people may have died.
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