Fears grow for child survivors of quake

AUTHORITIES overseeing relief efforts after Turkey’s biggest earthquake in more than a decade say they are sending emergency supplies to the tens of thousands left homeless by the disaster.

Search and rescue operations continued at nine sites in Ercis, a town of nearly 100,000 that suffered the most damage in last Sunday’s quake, but no survivors have been found since a 13-year-old boy was dragged out of the rubble in the early hours of Friday.

The death toll from the tremor is at least 575, with another 2,608 injured, according to the official count. While 187 people were rescued over the past six days, chances of finding more alive are slim.

One of the bodies found on Friday was the father of a two-week-old baby girl called Azra whose rescue, along with her mother, on Tuesday had briefly uplifted the nation.

The government was criticised for responding slowly during the initial days of the crisis, with anger focused largely on the shortage of tents as thousands of people endured freezing nights waiting for shelter to be provided.

“Our primary concern are the kids. We will be fine somehow but what will happen to these kids?” said Nezihe Saglam, a 38-year-old housewife, as she sat around a small camp fire with other family members who had pitched three tents in a garden.

“We have a stove in the tent but it’s freezing at night, and the stoves can’t help the freezing temperatures. What if the kids get infections?” she said.

“We haven’t had any warm food since the earthquake, we are living on cheese, bread and olives. Tents, beds and warm food are the priorities, we need a soup kitchen in every neighbourhood,” she said.