Turkey and Syria earthquake Update

Turkey and Syria earthquake: Death toll surpasses 12,000 while Istanbul suspends stock exchange – as it happened

 Turkey-Syria Earthquake highlights: Frantic search is underway to find more survivors and help the injured as the death toll passed 11,000 from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria. The search continues amid freezing weather and multiple aftershocks that have hampered the rescue efforts, despite international assistance from many countries including India. Southeast Turkey and northern Syria were struck by a major 7.8 earthquake on Monday.  

Turkey-Syria earthquake toll tops 11,000

Over 11,000 people have been killed so far due to powerful earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, reported news agency AP.

'Put politics aside', facilitate northwest Syria aid access: UN

A leading United Nations official on Wednesday called for the facilitation of aid access to rebel-held areas in Syria's northwest, warning that relief stocks will soon be depleted.
Rebel-held areas near Turkey's border -- hard hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday -- cannot receive aid from government-held parts of Syria without Damascus's authorisation.
"Put politics aside and let us do our humanitarian work," the UN's resident Syria coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih said in an interview with AFP, warning: "We can't afford to wait and negotiate. By the time we negotiate, it's done, it's finished."

Syrian doctor says scale of injuries from earthquake is more devastating than from the war

Doctor Mohamad Zitoun spent years treating casualties from the Syrian war but has never experienced anything like the number of injured and the scale of their injuries following Monday's devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria.

Twitter down in Turkey as quake response criticism mounts

Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish mobile providers on Wednesday as online criticism mounted of the government's response to this week's deadly earthquake.

AFP reporters were unable to access the social media network in Turkey. The netblocks.org social media monitor said Twitter was being restricted "on multiple internet providers in Turkey".