The Turkey and Syria earthquake's rescue phase is "coming to a close", with urgency now switching to providing shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said during a visit to Aleppo in northern Syria on Monday. The combined death toll has surpassed 35,000, France 24 reports.
The death toll from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has climbed above 35,000, with search and rescue teams starting to wind down their work.
Local officials and medics said 31,643 people have died in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria from last Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 35,224.
The Turkey and Syria earthquake's rescue phase is "coming to a close", with urgency now switching to providing shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said during a visit to Aleppo in northern Syria on Monday.
"What is the most striking here, is even in Aleppo, which has suffered so much these many years, this moment, that moment... was about the worst that these people have experienced," Griffiths added.
The UN official also mentioned that the United Nations will have aid moving from government-held regions in Syria to the rebel-held northwest of the country – also devastated by the deadly earthquake.
