February 13, 2023 Over 36,000 dead from quake in Turkey and Syria

Turkish authorities have carried out a wave of arrests of property developers accused of "negligence" over building collapses due to last week's earthquake, amid growing public anger over the government's response to the disaster.

At least 134 people are being treated as suspects and under investigation regarding the construction of buildings that were destroyed during the earthquake, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sunday.

“Three of these suspects were arrested pending trial, seven of them in custody, seven banned from travel," said Bozdag. "Negligence detected, we will do what the law necessitates."

Yasemin Didem Aktas, structural engineer and lecturer at University College London, told CNN that while the earthquake and its aftershocks constituted "a very powerful event that would challenge even code compliant buildings," construction issues did exist. 

"What we are seeing here is definitely telling us that something is wrong in those buildings, and it can be that they weren't designed in code in the first place, or the implementation wasn't designed properly," said Didem Aktas. "We are also seeing in Turkey quite commonly that post occupancy modifications on buildings compromise their safety."

But while the government cracks down on developers, feelings of anger and resentment continue to grow among those affected.

Turkey is no stranger to earthquakes and many feel that the government failed to prepare for another catastrophic event.

However Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his government’s response, admitting to “shortcomings” but stressing that it’s “not possible to be prepared for such a disaster.” 

Germany’s International Search and Rescue team (ISAR) has ended its mission in Turkey’s earthquake-stricken region and is set to return home on Monday, it said in a statement.

“We will not forget the people in the disaster area,” ISAR said in the statement, which added it would travel back to Germany from Kirikhan, the northeastern part of Turkey’s Hatay Province.

“We are now examining which projects we can help with very quickly and sustainably,” it added.

Germany sent 50 recovery experts to Turkey last Tuesday, to locate and rescue victims. The country suspended its rescue and relief operations on Saturday, citing security concerns in the Hatay region, according to a statement issued by the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief.

In a separate statement released on Sunday, ISAR said the team had rescued an 88-year-old woman from “underneath the rubble” of a collapsed home in Kirikhan after hearing a “quiet voice” whilst conducting rescue efforts on the building.

The death toll across Turkey and Syria following Monday’s catastrophic earthquake reached at least 36,217. 

The death toll in Turkey has reached 31,643, Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM said Monday. 

The confirmed death toll in Syria is 4,574. That number includes more than 3,160 in opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria, according to the health ministry of the Salvation Government governance authority.

The Syrian death toll also includes 1,414 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

This post has been updated with the latest figures.

One of Mexico's beloved rescue dogs, deployed to Turkey to assist in rescue operations there, has died. 

"We deeply regret the loss of our great companion the dog: 'Proteo,'" the Mexican Ministry of National Defense tweeted on Sunday. 

The ministry did not say how the dog had died. 

Proteo was one of 16 canines sent to Turkey from Mexico last week, to assist in search and rescue operations following last week's devastating earthquake.

"The heart of our rescue team is currently flying to Turkey," Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard tweeted on Tuesday.

Mexico, where there are regular earthquakes due to its tectonic setting, is well-known for its highly trained and specialized search and rescue dogs.

A woman who had been trapped under rubble for 175 hours in Turkey's Hatay province was rescued Monday, more than a week after the powerful quake struck.

Footage released by the Istanbul Municipality showed the woman, identified as Naide Umay, being lifted on a stretcher from underneath the rubble and into the daylight.

The rescue team included staff from the Istanbul fire department and Turkish miners, who are among the thousands of workers helping with search and rescue efforts.

Teams are still rushing to save victims that could be alive under the rubble, though aid agencies and authorities have warned the chances of finding survivors are becoming increasingly slim.

One week after the devastating earthquake hit Turkey, teams are still rushing to save victims that could be alive under the rubble — even as aid agencies and authorities warned the chances of finding survivors are becoming increasingly unlikely.

After 167 hours, a man was rescued from the debris in Antakya, in southern Turkey's Hatay province, video from CNN affiliate CNN Turk shows. The man is seen being hoisted up by rescue workers, who he then embraces and grasps hands with.

Earlier Sunday, a 55-year-old woman was pulled from the rubble after 159 hours buried, while an 85-year-old woman was rescued after 152 hours trapped in what her nephew described as a cavity around 30-40 centimeters (11-16 inches) wide, according to CNN Turk.

Two people — a 25-year-old Syrian man and a child — were also rescued in Hatay some 151 and 152 hours after the quake hit, local officials said Sunday.

The man was rescued after response teams detected noises beneath the debris while conducting a sound survey in the ruins of an apartment building in Antakya, according to officials.

The technology was also used by the teams to find the child, whose age was not disclosed.

At least 41 people were rescued from under the rubble in Turkey between the 141st and 163rd hours after the quake hit, state-run news agency Anadolu reported Monday.

Death toll: More than 34,000 people have been confirmed dead across Turkey and Syria, where relief efforts have been complicated by the long-running civil war. Rescue operations are over in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria, the White Helmets volunteer organization said Friday.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Sunday urged the UN Security Council to approve two additional access points to deliver aid to parts of Syria hit by the deadly quake last week.

The delivery of urgent supplies to quake-hit areas of northern Syria has been complicated by a long-running civil war between opposition forces and the Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, who is accused of killing his own people.

Russia, which backs Assad's regime, has previously blocked approval for another aid route to Syria at the UN.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator on Sunday stressed the need to "open more access points" to get aid out quicker. Meanwhile, the head of the White Helmets volunteer group urged the UN to act outside the Security Council to open three crossings for emergency aid.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has promised to bolster aid for Turkey as the country grapples with the aftermath of last Monday's devastating earthquake. 

In a phone call Sunday, Von der Leyen told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "the Commission will mobilize additional support and respond to Türkiye's latest request for more shelter capacity — in particular tents, blankets, heaters," according to an EU readout of the call. 

The EU hopes to drum up additional funding for Turkey and Syria during a donor conference set to be held in Brussels in March. 

In a news release Wednesday, the bloc said its operation in the impacted regions is one of the "largest ever search and rescue operations" carried out through its Civil Protection Mechanism. A total of 21 EU member states and three participating states have so far offered 38 response teams, consisting of 1,651 people and 106 search and rescue dogs, according to the readout.

A convoy of 10 United Nations aid trucks entered northwest Syria through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing on Sunday, UNOCHA spokesperson Madevi Sun-Suon said.

The trucks from the UN’s International Organization for Migrants (IOM) carried comprehensive shelter kits, Sun-Suon said.

She said it comes after 22 UN vehicles crossed through Bab Al-Hawa on Saturday, including:

The delivery of urgent supplies to quake-hit areas of northern Syria, much of which is held by rebels, has been complicated by the country's long-running civil war.

On Sunday, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, tweeted from the Turkey-Syria border saying the people of northwest Syria “rightly feel abandoned.”