The Red Cross said on Tuesday that hundreds or even thousands of people remain buried under the rubble after a devastating earthquake that killed at least 366 people in eastern Turkey.
"The situation in eastern Turkey continues to be very serious," said Jessica Sallabank, spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
"Hundreds, possibly thousands of people are still trapped under the rubble," she added. There is no official count of missing people at the moment, said the aid agency. Assessments indicate that 2,256 buildings - mostly apartments - were destroyed during the quake, the IFRC said, quoting Turkish Red Cross data. "With regional temperatures dropping below freezing at night, the distribution of blankets, hot food and heaters is a critical priority," it added. Some 6,377 tents have been distributed in the quake-affected region.
Infant rescuedRescuers plucked a two-week-old baby girl from the rubble today 48 hours after a devastating earthquake killed at least 366 people in Turkey, energising the desperate search effort. The rescue workers reached the baby after hours of frantic digging around her home in the worst-hit town of Ercis and were working to free the mother whose name was given as Semiha. The father was missing, rescuers said.