Six days after the violent earthquake that spread chaos in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, the death toll has exceeded 33,000, but could double according to the UN.
In recent days, a few miracles have appeared during the drama. But they should not hide the reality: the death toll continues to rise this Sunday with 33,000 dead, 29,605 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria.
The head of the UN humanitarian agency Martin Griffiths told Sky News that the death toll, while already heavy, “will double or more.” “We haven’t really started counting the death toll yet,” he says. “Soon the search and rescue people will give way to the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to deal with the extraordinary number of people affected over the next few months,” he said.
Nearly 32,000 people are mobilized for search and rescue operations in Turkey, as well as more than 8,000 foreign rescue workers, according to Turkey’s natural disaster agency. A crossing point has also been opened between Turkey and Armenia, for the first time in 35 years, to allow the arrival of humanitarian aid.
Pope Francis called on Sunday for “concrete support” for the people hit by the powerful earthquake. “Let us continue to be in solidarity, through prayer and concrete support, with the people hit by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” he said at the end of his traditional Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.
