UN announces $25m in humanitarian aid

The UN has announced $25m in humanitarian aid for Turkey and Syria following deadly earthquakes that have claimed more than 7,000 lives.

The aid, coming from the UN central emergency response fund, will help provide urgent lifesaving assistance to the region, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters during a news conference.

''The UN disaster assessment and coordination teams are in Adana today and mobilising to Gaziantep tomorrow to support Turkey's urban search and rescue teams,'' he said.

''We will do whatever the government of Turkey wants us to do and try to be as helpful as possible."

He also said that the road leading to Bab al-Hawa, the sole border crossing used to shuttle life-saving aid from Turkey into Syria, has been damaged, leading to major disruptions in aid operations.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing itself is "actually intact", Dujarric said. "However, the road that is leading to the crossing has been damaged, and that’s temporarily disrupted our ability to fully use it."