Rescue crews in Turkey and Syria raced against time Thursday and a lack of equipment to find survivors buried in the rubble of buildings toppled by powerful earthquakes that struck the region Monday and left more than 20,000 people dead so far, reports the Voice of America.
The country’s disaster management agency said Thursday that about 110,000 personnel are involved in rescue efforts and 5,500 vehicles such as tractors, cranes, bulldozers and excavators have been shipped to assist the country reeling from the earthquake.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the area near the quake’s epicenter close to the city of Gaziantep and the Turkey-Syria border.
He faced the mounting frustration of survivors looking for their loved ones or for aid from the government by acknowledging problems with the emergency response to Monday’s 7.8 magnitude quake.
“It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster,” Erdogan said. “We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for.” He pointed to the winter weather and how the earthquake had destroyed the runway at Hatay’s airport as things that disrupted the response.
