Those who died in the earthquakes that have struck Turkey and Syria
already exceed 21,000, according to local authorities, who put the number of people injured by the earthquakes in both countries at more than 68,000.
According to the Turkish emergency management authority AFAD, four days after the earthquake with its epicenter in Turkey, the official balance of fatalities has risen to 17,674 while the number of injured already exceeds 63,000.
At dawn the rescuers managed pull a 16-year-old boy out of the rubble alive, although as the hours pass the hopes of other miracles diminish.
Local experts estimate that tens of thousands of people are still under the rubble of collapsed buildings, although there is no information on the situation in most of the towns of the 10 affected provinces because of the earthquake.
In Syria, the official death toll now stands at 3,377 and the number of wounded at 5,235, while rescue efforts continue in the five most affected provinces of the country with little hope of finding survivors.
In the areas of Idlib and Aleppo (northwest), in the hands of the opposition, the balance exceeds 1,900 fatalities and the 2,950 injured, according to the latest count offered by the White Helmets, a group of rescuers that operates in the opposition regions of Syria.
Rescuers warned that the numbers could continue to rise, as many people remain trapped. under rubble on the fourth day of emergency operations after the initial quake registered on Monday and followed by multiple aftershocks.
Another 1,262 people lost their lives and 2,285 were injured in the areas controlled by the Government of Bashar al Asad, which has not updated its balance sheet since yesterday.
The Syrian authorities announced yesterday that about 293,000 people had to leave their homes as a result of the earthquakes in government areas, where some 180 shelters have been set up to accommodate those who lost their homes or whose homes suffered substantial damage.
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