By John Ikani
Turkey’s disaster agency has announced that rescue efforts have been ended in all but two provinces, almost two weeks after a massive earthquake killed tens of thousands of people.
The agency’s chief Yunus Sezer confirmed that searches will continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay, but hopes of finding anyone else alive in the rubble are fading fast.
The death toll is expected to climb as more than 44,000 people have been confirmed dead in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria, with many still missing.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has arrived in Turkey and pledged $100m (£83m) in humanitarian aid, despite the trip being planned before the quake.
The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on 6 February was in Kahramanmaras, and over 345,000 apartments in Turkey are known to have been destroyed.
Neither Turkey nor Syria have confirmed how many people are still unaccounted for.
“In many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed,” said Sezer in a press briefing in Ankara.
He stated that search and rescue efforts are continuing at around 40 buildings in the two provinces, but he expects this number to fall by Sunday evening. However, the chances of finding anyone else alive are dwindling.
Mr Blinken has arrived in Turkey to show support and announced that the new aid “will be moving soon”.
He added that the aid is less about search and rescue, but rather for long-term recovery, stating that “This is going to be a long-term effort”.
He also acknowledged that getting aid into Syria is “very, very challenging”.
The Secretary of State will travel to Hatay to see humanitarian efforts before meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.
The pair is expected to discuss various issues, including Turkey’s refusal to ratify Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership applications.
