The number of confirmed deaths in Turkey due to the earthquake has risen to 40,689, Yunus Sezer, head of the country's disaster agency AFAD, said. The increase was 47 more than the figure given on Saturday evening and a much smaller increase then previous updates.
Sezer told journalists in Ankara that search and rescue work in nine of the 11 provinces hit by the quake had ended. Rescue operation are ongoing in Kahramanmaras, the site of the epicenter, and Hatay, one of the hardest-hit provinces. “We continue these efforts every day with the hope of reaching a living brother or sister,” he said.
While rescue operations continue in the two provinces, there have been no signs of anyone being dug from the rubble alive since three members of one family — a mother, father and 12-year-old boy — were extracted from a collapsed building in Hatay on Saturday. The boy later died.
The new figure takes the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria to 44,377. The U.N. has said the full scope of the deaths in Syria may take time to determine.
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