Turkey-Syria quake deaths to top 50,000: UN relief chief

• According to officials and medics, 24,617 persons were killed in Turkey.
• 3,574 were killed in Syria.
• The toll may double or more as it’s tough to determine for now.

According to UN humanitarian head Martin Griffiths, the death toll from a huge earthquake in Turkey and Syria may “double or more” from its present level of 28,000 people.

Griffiths landed in Turkey’s southern city of Kahramanmaras on Saturday, the epicenter of the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked millions of people in the early hours of Monday.

On Saturday, he said of the death toll, “I think it’s tough to determine precisely because we need to dig under the rubble, but I’m sure it’ll double or more.”

“We haven’t even begun to count the deceased,” he said.

According to officials and medics, 24,617 persons were killed in Turkey and 3,574 were killed in Syria. The confirmed total is currently 28,191.

Despite frigid weather that has exacerbated the anguish of millions now in desperate need of assistance, tens of thousands of rescue personnel are scouring destroyed neighborhoods.

According to the UN, at least 870,000 people in Turkey and Syria require hot meals right now. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been displaced.

The earthquake has touched over 26 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which launched a quick appeal for $42.8 million on Saturday to address acute health needs.

According to Turkey’s disaster agency, around 32,000 personnel from Turkish organizations are working on search-and-rescue activities. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers.

“Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,” Griffiths said in a video posted to Twitter.

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