Turkey-Syria earthquake: Death toll to be over 56,000, says UN relief chief

So far, 28.192 deaths have been officially declared in Turkey-Syria.

Kahramanmaras, Feb 12: The death toll in Turkey and Syria due to the massive earthquake will "double or more" from its current level of 28,000, according to UN relief chief Martin Griffiths.

Griffiths on Saturday landed at Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude tremor. "I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I'm sure it will double or more," France24 quoted him as saying in an interview with Sky News.

"We haven't really begun to count the number of dead," he said.

So far, 28.192 deaths have been officially declared. Turkey's death toll climbed to 24,617, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a news conference. In Syria, the total number of confirmed deaths stands at 3,575, including 2,167 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defence group.

"What I saw today in #Türkiye was devastating. What were once homes, filled with families and memories, now lay contorted and tangled. Our thoughts are with those affected and we will continue to support in any way we can," the UN relief chief wrote on Twitter and shared a clip from the earth-quake affected region.

In another tweet, he said that the UN will be calling for international support to address the pressing humanitarian needs in Turkey and Syria.

He also met families affected by the earthquake and listened to their stories of shock and devastation.

Meanwhile, an Indian national missing in Turkiye since the massive earthquake on February 6 was found dead on Saturday in the rubble of a hotel where he was staying.

Vijay Kumar Gaud, who hailed from Uttarakhand's Pauri district and was working for a Bengaluru-based company, had gone to Turkiye on an official assignment. With his face crushed beyond recognition, Gaud was identified with a tattoo of the word "Om" on one of his hands, his family said here quoting Indian embassy officials.

On the other hand, the seventh plane from India, carrying relief material, essentials, and emergency and critical care medicines for earthquake relief efforts for Syria and Turkey, was dispatched on Saturday evening.

"7th #OperationDost flight reached Syria with over 23 tons of relief material, including gensets, solar lamps, emergency & critical care medicines, & disaster relief consumables.

Received at Damascus airport by Deputy Minister of Local Administration & Environment Moutaz Douaji," Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of External Affairs Ministry, tweeted.

"On Saturday evening, earthquake relief material and equipment were sent to Syria and Turkey onboard another IAF C-17 aircraft. After offloading relief material at Damascus, the flight will head towards Adana," said a MEA official.