Turkey-Syria earthquake: As it happened

Turkey vowed on Sunday to prosecute anyone suspected of responsibility in the collapse of buildings and said it has already ordered the arrest of at least 131 people. 

Vice President Fuat Oktay said overnight that 113 suspects had so far been identified as responsible for the collapse of some of the thousands of buildings flattened in the 10 provinces affected by the tremors early last Monday.

"Detention orders have been issued for 113 of them," Oktay told reporters in a briefing at the disaster management coordination centre in Ankara.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths admitted that the UN had “failed the people” in northwest Syria as thousands are feared dead in the rebel-held territory.

“They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” Griffiths wrote on Twitter. 

“My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That’s my focus now.”

Germany said it would offer Syrians and Turks affected by the quake temporary visas to let them stay with their relatives in the country. 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faesar said Germany wanted to “help those in need” and allow Syrians and Turks to bring “their close relatives from the disaster areas to their homes without bureaucracy.” 

Qatar’s news agency said Qatari Emir Al Thani is travelling to Turkey on Sunday to show solidarity with the thousands who have died. 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has already arrived in Turkey and met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavosoglu. 

The rescue efforts continue in Syria and Turkey as the death toll exceeds 29,000 people overnight.

UN officials flooded the quake zone scene on Saturday, with aid chief Martin Griffiths describing the earthquakes as the "worst event" to strike the region in over 100 years.

Griffiths added that the death toll is expected to "more than double" as rescue workers desperately sift through the rubble. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also vowed to prosecute individuals caught looting in the quake zone, with local authorities already arresting 48 people.

Meanwhile, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Aleppo on Saturday with 37 metric tonnes of aid.

Tedros said the WHO would be sending an additional 30 tonnes of aid on Sunday. 

Hello MEE readers. It has been six days since a massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and Syria, leading to at least 28,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries.

Search and rescue teams have been working around the clock over the past few days. While hope for finding survivors more than 120 hours later dwindles, several people were pulled from the rubble today in "miracle rescues". The survivors included a two-month-old baby, an elderly woman, a two-year-old girl, a six-month pregnant woman, and a four-year-old and her father. 

Meanwhile, security concerns led some aid operations to be suspended temporarily, and 48 people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, state media reported.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods, despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid. The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8m to cope with immediate, towering health needs.

MEE will be taking a pause in coverage. To stay updated, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for the latest news.

German and Austrian emergency and rescue teams resumed work after Turkey provided them with police escorts, the governor of Hatay province has said.

Governor Rahmi Dogan said that the teams paused operations over concerns about gunfire heard nearby.

A source speaking to MEE said the gunshots were from police forces who were trying to disperse rowdy crowds by shooting warning shots into the air. 

Search and rescue teams in Turkey and Syria have continued to pull survivors from the rubble, well after the 72-hour "golden period". Those rescued on Saturday include a two-month-old baby, a 6-year-old boy named Beren, a 5-year-old girl, and five members of one family

Two German aid organisations suspend rescue operations, citing security problems and reports of clashes between groups of people and gunfire.

The German International Search and Rescue (ISAR) and Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) said they would resume their work as soon as Turkish civil protection agency AFAD classifies the situation as safe.

ISAR Operations Manager Steven Bayer said the security situation was slightly deteriorating as the days since the disaster wore on and this was typical in such circumstances.

"That's partly due to the fact that food is now running out, water supply is running out, and then people are out searching for food and water," he said, speaking at a camp for rescue workers in the town of Kirikhan. 

"A second thing is that the hope that people had is now increasingly fading, and that hope can then also turn into anger."

Turkish authorities have arrested 48 people over looting, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vows to act against people committing crimes in the aftermath of the quake. 

The suspects were held in eight different provinces. Investigations into looting continue, authorities said. 

WHO official expresses concern over the "forgotten crisis" in northwest Syria as earthquake exacerbates aid backlog. First emergency supplies reach war-shattered region. pic.twitter.com/qKX62btuhK

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 11, 2023

The death toll from Monday's earthquakes rose to more than 25,000 people on Saturday, with rescuers working in freezing temperatures to find people. 

Officials and rescue workers said 21,848 had died in Turkey, and 3,554 had died in Syria since Monday's 7.8 magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 25,401. 

Turkish police have detained 12 people over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa. 

The local DHA agency said those taken into custody included contractors.

There are expected to be more detentions. The public prosecutor in Diyarbakir issued arrest warrants for 29 people on Saturday. 

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday in Syria's Aleppo, local state media reported. 

SANA news agency said Tedros will tour hospitals and shelters with Syria's health minister and the governor of Aleppo. 

Tedros said he was accompanying "emergency medical supplies of around 37 metric tons".

"This is the first supply we are sending," he told reporters at Aleppo airport.

"Tomorrow, there will be another round with more than 30 metric tons." 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to act against looters and people committing other crimes as the south of Turkey continues to reel from Monday's earthquake. 

During a visit to a disaster zone, Erdogan said hundreds of thousands of homes were uninhabitable and that authorities would take steps to start rebuilding damaged cities within weeks.