The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday is now at least 16,035, according to authorities.
In Syria, the total number of fatalities is at least 3,162, including 1,900 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets” civil defense group. Some 1,262 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled parts of the country, according to Syrian state media.
In Turkey, the toll has risen to at least 12,873, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said on Thursday.
Aid agencies have warned the toll is likely to rise significantly higher, especially in Syria, as search and rescue teams sift through the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings amid freezing weather conditions, faced with the risk of aftershocks.
Tens of thousands of people have been reported injured across the region, according to officials.
The body of an Australian man killed in Monday’s earthquake has been found in Turkey, according to Linda Scott, a municipal councilor in Sydney.
Can Pahali, also known as John, had been visiting family in the country and was on vacation in the province of Hatay when the quake struck, CNN affiliate Nine News reported.
Australia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Australian citizen as a result of the quake but did not name the individual.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deeply saddened by reports an Australian has died in the Turkiye earthquakes,” the ministry said. “Our consular team, and our teams in Turkiye and Lebanon, are working hard to assist family members concerned about their loved ones.”
The ministry said it is supporting around 50 other Australians and their families who were in the quake zone.
Photos taken at a border crossing between Turkey and Syria show a devastating scene as families receive the bodies of their loved ones who died in Monday’s massive earthquake.
The bodies of more than 300 Syrians who died in the quake in Turkey have been brought across the border, a spokesperson for the Bab al-Hawa border crossing said on Wednesday.
The bodies were sent back to Syria so the victims can be buried in their home country, Bab al-Hawa spokesperson Mazen Alloush said.
“Since Monday, and until now, we have been receiving bodies,” he said. “The bodies of Syrians, who were in Turkey, have been sent to us from various areas and hospitals.”
More than 15,000 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria after Monday’s catastrophic earthquake, according to authorities, with the death toll expected to rise higher.
Authorities are yet to release a detailed breakdown of the victims’ nationalities. Turkey is home to some 3.6 million Syrian refugees, according to UN figures, with hundreds of thousands of Syrians living in the southern province of Gaziantep, near the quake’s epicenter.
Allloush told CNN no aid had yet crossed the border, but he had received notice that six aid trucks would be entering the border before noon Thursday.
According to Alloush, the six trucks would be carrying sanitary items and possibly food.
Search and rescue teams work to rescue a woman from under the rubble of a collapsed building in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on Thursday morning.
