About two weeks after a major earthquake killed tens of thousands of people, Turkey’s disaster agency said that rescue operations had been discontinued in all but two provinces.
The chief of the agency announced that searches would continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay.
But there are dwindling chances of locating anyone else alive among the debris.
A $100 million (£83 million) humanitarian relief announcement has been made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has just arrived in Turkey.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on February 6 had Kahramanmaras as its epicenter. In southern Turkey and northern Syria, it has been established that over 44,000 people have died.
When more individuals go missing and an estimated 345,000 apartments in Turkey are known to have been destroyed, the death toll is sure to rise. How many people are still missing has not been disclosed by either Syria or Turkey.
Yunus Sezer, the head of the disaster service, told reporters in Ankara that search and rescue operations had ended in several of the regions.
He stated that although search and rescue operations were still ongoing at about 40 structures in the two provinces, he anticipated that this number would decline by Sunday night.
On Friday, more than 11 days after the earthquake trapped them, rescuers pulled at least three individuals out of the rubble. Despite the trip being scheduled prior to the earthquake, Mr. Blinken has arrived in Turkey to offer support. After assuming office more than two years ago, this is his first trip to Turkey.
fresh assistance “will soon relocate. Regrettably, the focus should be on long-term recovery rather than search and rescue. It would take time to complete this “, he told the media.
Aiding Syria was “very, very tough,” he continued.
Prior to his Monday meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he will visit Hatay to observe humanitarian efforts. The two are anticipated to talk on a variety of topics, such as Turkey’s unwillingness to endorse Sweden’s and Finland’s Nato membership applications.
