Europe
28 October 2011 Last updated at 01:29 GMT
Rescuers pull the teenager from the collapsed building
A 13-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble in south-eastern Turkey, 108 hours after an earthquake devastated his town.
The injured boy was rescued from a collapsed building in Ercis. Just hours earlier a man was freed from a flattened apartment block and taken to hospital.
But officials say hopes are fading of finding more survivors after Sunday's 7.2-magnitude quake, which killed at least 523 people.
So far 185 people have been rescued but hundreds are still missing.
Rain and snow have been hindering the rescue and relief effort.
The rescued boy, named Ferhat Tokay, was found alive late on Thursday and pulled out by search teams early in the morning.
"He was taken to hospital in Sahra and his health appears good," said a rescue official.
Rescuers in some places are continuing to dig through the debris, but at other sites they have stopped work and attention is turning to the needs of the survivors.
More than 1,600 people were injured in the quake, which had its epicentre in Van province.
Waiting Tents and other aid supplies are being delivered after some initial criticism that the response was too slow.
Thousands of people are living outdoors in bitter winter conditions
People in Ercis, the hardest-hit town, have formed long queues to try to get hold of tents but many have been told there are none left."Everyone is getting sick and wet," said Fetih Zengin, 38, whose house was badly damaged.
"We have been waiting in line for four days and still nothing," he told Reuters news agency.
Another survivor, Zeki Yatkin, lost his father in the quake.
"They say we will get prefabricated houses in one-and-a-half months," he said, in an interview with Reuters.
"We can't tolerate the cold, but what else can we do?"
South-eastern Turkey was hit by another strong aftershock on Thursday of magnitude 5.2, but there are no reports of any further casualties.
The Turkish government had initially said it did not need any help from abroad, but later changed its mind.
Ankara accepted an offer of clothes, blankets and other supplies from Israel, despite the recent deterioration in their relationship.
Reports say prefabricated homes from Israel are currently on their way to Van province.
"Three more planes loaded with aid supplies will come to Turkey within two days," an official from the Israeli embassy in Ankara told the Anatolia news agency.
Aid from several other countries is starting to arrive in Turkey too.
The United Nations says it is sending thousands of tents as well as blankets and mattresses.
No comments:
Post a Comment