Turkey Earthquake Death Victims Reach 36 Thousand People, Head of UN Assistance Calls Rescue Phase Ending Soon

The impact of the earthquake in Turkey. (Twitter/@UNReliefChief)

JAKARTA - The UN aid chief said the rescue phase as a response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey last Monday is coming to an end, as the death toll continues to rise.

The death toll across Turkey and Syria as of Monday reached at least 36.217 people, citing CNN, February 14.

Data from the Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM said the death toll from the earthquake in the country reached 31.643 people.

Meanwhile in Syria, the confirmed death toll reached 4.574. The number includes more than 3.160 in opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria, according to the Health Ministry.

Syria's death toll also includes 1.414 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

Separately, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said the rescue phase of the earthquake response was "nearly complete," during a visit to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Monday.

"I have heard stories here in Aleppo this morning that give you goosebumps, with what happened in the early hours of that terrible day. What is most striking here even in Aleppo, which has suffered so much over the years , right now. , that moment a week or so ago was the worst these people have ever experienced," Griffith told reporters.

Griffiths, undersecretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief at the United Nations, said his office would launch an appeal to help Turkey and Syria meet humanitarian needs in about three months.

"What we're seeing happening in this earthquake zone is the rescue phase of dragging living people out of the rubble and finding those who died in the rubble, that's coming to an end," he said.

"And now the humanitarian phase, the urgency of providing shelter, psychosocial care, food, schools, and a sense of future for these people, that's our duty now," said Griffiths.

The aid chief added that the UN had come to Syria to "raise aid for this brave organization that is helping these people of Aleppo, these people of Syria."