The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria topped 11,200 on Wednesday as rescuers scrambled to save survivors trapped under rubble in the winter cold.
Officials and doctors said 8,574 people had been killed in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria by the 7.8-magnitude tremor on Monday, bringing the total to 11,236.
About 50,000 people were also injured in Turkey and another 5,000 in Syria, officials and rescue workers from both sides said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an update on the casualty figures during a visit to Kahramanmaras, a southern Turkish city at the epicenter of the initial quake.
Television footage showed him embracing a crying elderly woman and walking through a large crowd towards a Red Crescent relief tent.
Facing a tough re-election on May 14, Erdogan vowed to rebuild the damaged regions within a year.
He also seemed to reject criticism that the government’s response to Turkey’s worst disaster in decades has been slow.
“At first there were problems at the airports and on the roads, but today things are getting easier and tomorrow it will be even easier,” he said in televised remarks.
“We have mobilized all our resources,” he added. “The State is doing its job.”
© Agence France-Presse
