The chief United Nations aid official said he was encouraged by the uptick in relief convoys rolling into Syria on Monday but warned that more must be done as the death toll from last week’s earthquakes continued to rise amid occasional miraculous rescues.
“I am encouraged by the scale-up of convoys from the UN transshipment center at the Turkish border,” tweeted Martin Griffiths, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief. “We need to open more access points and get more aid out fast.”
Earlier, Griffiths had lamented that aid efforts had “failed the people in northwest Syria.”
The magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 quakes struck nine hours apart in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6. Scores of strong aftershocks added to the damage as thousands of buildings collapsed. The confirmed death toll stood at more than 35,000 for the two nations Monday and was expected to further rise in coming days as remains are discovered in the rubble.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:How to help Turkey, Syria: Relief efforts ongoing after deadliest earthquake in years
New developments:
►Turkish Airlines said it has resumed flights from Hatay Airport and evacuations were underway. The airport’s runway had been damaged by the quakes.
►Hundreds gathered in New York’s Time Square on Sunday to pay homage to the quake victims.
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Miraculous rescues amid overwhelming destruction and death
In Turkey, rescuers on Monday extricated a woman named Naide Umay, 70, from a collapsed building in Antakya. Earlier, a 40-year-old woman was rescued from the wreckage of a five-story building in the town of Islahiye, in Gaziantep province, while a 60-year old was rescued in Besni, in Adiyaman province.
Still, thousands of bodies also were being removed from toppled buildings. Some survivors waited at the site of collapsed buildings for the bodies of their loved ones to be retrieved. And a week after the quakes hit, many people were still without shelter in the streets.
WHY TURKEY IS VULNERABLE:Deadly earthquakes have hit Turkey before: Why there? Could a similar quake strike the US?
US presses for additional border crossing for Syrian aid
The earthquake death toll in Syria’s northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166, according to the rescue group the White Helmets. The overall death toll in Syria stood at 3,553 on Saturday, although the 1,387 deaths reported for government-held parts of the country hadn’t been updated in days.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.N. ambassador to the United Nations, called for “urgent action” on a U.N. Security Council resolution to authorize additional cross-border humanitarian access into Syria. She cited calls from Griffiths and other U.N. leaders for two additional crossings to help deliver the desperately needed aid.
“Right now, every hour matters,” she said in a statement. “People in the affected areas are counting on us. … They are appealing to our common humanity to help in their moment of need. We cannot let them down.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
