China News Service, February 10th, according to comprehensive foreign media reports, as of now, the strong earthquake has killed more than 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Cold, hunger and misery enveloped thousands of homeless people.
Experts fear the death toll may rise sharply.
On February 9th, Beijing time, the search and rescue work of the strong earthquake in Turkey continued. Rescuers searched for survivors among the rubble.
As time passed, the job of finding survivors became more urgent.
Figure/Visual China
Condolences! More than 20,000 people have been killed
According to the latest news from Agence France-Presse, the strong earthquake has killed more than 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Turkish Vice President Oktay said 17,674 people were killed and 72,879 were injured in Turkey.
In Syria, 3,377 people died, officials and medical staff said.
The "golden 72 hours" have passed, and experts worry that the number of victims may rise sharply.
Depending on injuries, entrapment, access to enough air and water, weather, etc., people trapped in collapsed buildings may last only about a week.
Aid agencies also warned that snowfall and lack of water, communications and power supplies could lead to a deadly "secondary disaster".
Laroud, Turkey's emergency response coordinator for the humanitarian organization CARE, said the most urgent need was winter heating supplies. In addition, power and phone communication remained unstable and "many people stayed in their cars all night".
Kearney, UNICEF's representative in Syria, also told Al Jazeera, "In Aleppo, the number of displaced people is increasing every hour. We heard yesterday that some schools in Aleppo started burning school furniture to keep warm. Because it’s been so cold.” Kearney also noted that local needs for medical care, food and psychological support are also high.
In addition, due to damaged roads and bad weather, it is difficult to carry out rescue work in some severely disaster-stricken areas.
Ali, a resident of Kahramanmaras, said: "I couldn't get my brother out of the rubble, and I couldn't get my nephew back. Look here...the kids are freezing."
In the war-torn city of Aleppo in northern Syria, the victims of Umm even bluntly stated that the destructive power of the earthquake is greater than that of the war.
After the earthquake, she ran around looking for her missing sister and four nephews.
"We searched everywhere, including going to the hospital, but we haven't heard from them."
On February 8, local time, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, babies rescued from the ruins of collapsed buildings after the strong earthquake are being transferred to Ankara by the Turkish President's special plane, and 16 unaccompanied babies due to the earthquake were transferred to Ankara take care of.
Figure/Visual China
Persevere: This is a time for unity
Some good news from the tense search and rescue has also raised people's hopes.
The video released by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) on the 9th showed that 79 hours after the earthquake, rescuers rescued a 2-year-old boy from the ruins of Hatay.
Another video showed helmeted and dusty rescuers crying with emotion after successfully rescuing a young girl from a collapsed building.
According to CNN, the Antalya Metropolitan Fire Department also said on the 9th that about 90 hours after the earthquake, the rescue team "heard the sound under the rubble" and found the 10-year-old girl trapped under the rubble of the building. Hilal Salam, and eventually rescued Salam.
"The injured girl was carried on a stretcher amid cheers from everyone, and was taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment."
Many countries and regions have also sent rescue teams to the disaster-stricken areas.
According to WHO statistics, 77 national and 13 international emergency medical teams are currently deployed to the two countries.
UN Secretary-General Guterres urged the Security Council to authorize the opening of a new cross-border humanitarian aid point between Turkey and Syria to deliver aid.
"This is a time for unity, not politicization or division, but it's clear we need a lot of support."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the 9th that he would go to Syria and said that WHO is providing support for basic health care in the affected areas.
In addition to sending a high-level delegation to coordinate the post-disaster response, under the coordination of WHO, three flights carrying medical supplies will be flown to the disaster area one after another.
In addition, Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, believes that post-disaster mental health support is crucial for survivors.
He called on governments to reflect on the complex impact of war and conflict on health systems and the lives of ordinary people.