Aerial photos of parts of southern Turkey hit by Monday's earthquake show the scale of devastation following the disaster.

Image source, Maxar Technologies

Image source, Maxar Technologies

Image source, Maxar Technologies

Image source, Maxar Technologies

Nick Beake
Reporting from Gaziantep, Turkey

More than 100 hours have passed since the first of the two devastating earthquakes struck.

With each hour, the hope of finding survivors has been evaporating into the bitterly cold air.

In this part of the city, you can see the pace of the operation has dipped.

As we arrived this morning and took in the latest scene, we could hear birdsong. That wouldn’t have been possible yesterday.

Then, the rumble of heavy machinery restarted with more rubble being cleared away. The head of the operation here told us they had pulled 22 people to safety from the one block in front of us, but there have not been recent rescues.

No-one will tell you they’ve given up hope, but exhaustion and grief are etched on the faces of those picking through the debris of their devastated neighbourhood.

Shock has given way to a grim new reality.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK's King and Queen Consort have been thanked for a "generous donation" by the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) which is helping earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also tweeted, external that they were supporting the appeal.

William and Kate said they were "horrified to see the harrowing images" in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

Funds will provide medical aid, shelter, food and water to thousands.

Read the full story here.

James FitzGerald
BBC News

Image source, Ekrem Imamoglu/Twitter

A remarkable find in southern Turkey - where a newborn baby and his mother have been rescued from rubble, around 90 hours after the first of Monday's deadly earthquakes.

The 10-day-old boy, named Yagiz, was retrieved from a ruined structure in Hatay province.

Footage showed the child being carefully taken out overnight in a thermal blanket, and then carried to an ambulance.

His mother was brought out on a stretcher. There were no further updates immediately available over the health of both.

Read more here.

Steve Mannion is an orthopaedic surgeon with a charity that sends NHS professionals to disaster zones.

He is in Turkey to work with earthquake survivors, and has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme about what he is seeing:

Mannion describes "tragic" scenes of people trying to retrieve the remnants of their belongings from destroyed homes: "It's a very sorry state. And then there's the injuries on top of that. Severely injured people have been evacuated, but then there's minor injuries too - people with broken limbs and so on.

"The level of devastation is truly awful. The number of houses that have been destroyed and the effect on the population is one of the worst I've seen," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

A doctor treating victims of the earthquake in northern Syria has urged countries to increase medical aid.

Dr Mohamed Hassoun, who works at the al-Shifa and Atme hospitals in rebel-held northern Syria, told Radio 4's World Tonight programme that more than 350 people died at his two hospitals in the first day after the earthquake struck.

"After that, the number of dead increased very rapidly because people were taking their dead loved ones straight to their homes or straight to the cemeteries.

"The medical supplies that we have don't even cover the needs of 20% of the people in northern Syria. And of course, the magnitude of the damage because of the earthquake is extremely difficult to deal with, with what we already have."

Asked for his message to the wider world, Dr Hassoun said: "Please, please increase your medical supplies, aid and training so that we can treat more people."

Dr Hassoun, whose family lives in Turkey, said he had struggled with the decision to initially stay in Syria to treat victims of the earthquake there.

"Just thinking that my family is under the rubble of an apartment block was just beyond comprehension.

"At the same time, it's a matter of balance, thinking as a doctor, do I stay and treat hundreds of people who've been injured or do I go across into Turkey to see my family who at the end of the day are six people?"

He said he decided to stay in Syria to treat people once he knew his family were being looked after. And once a colleague was able to take his place in the hospital, he made the journey back to Turkey to see his family.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Adana, southern Turkey

Temperatures fell to below freezing for a fourth night.

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the epicentre of the quake, thousands of families again tried to sleep in cars and makeshift tents.

Mosques and schools have been opened to house people, but beds are scarce, with many parents once again walking the streets to stay warm with children wrapped in blankets.

Image source, Getty Images

Residents in the Syrian city of Aleppo say they are in desperate need of heating and more supplies, with the cold threatening more deaths among the tens of thousands now homeless.

The first lorryloads of United Nations aid crossed from Turkey into the rebel-held north-west of Syria on Thursday; but the White Helmets rescue group expressed disappointment.

They say this was the periodic assistance that occurred since before the earthquake, and not special aid and the equipement desperately needed for rescue teams to recover those trapped under the rubble.

More than 21,000 people are now known to have died in Monday's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, which Turkey's president has called "the disaster of the century".

A major international relief effort is gathering pace.

On Thursday, the World Bank pledged $1.78bn (£1.38bn) in aid to Turkey including immediate finance for rebuilding basic infrastructure and to support those affected by the earthquakes.

The US pledged a package of $85m to both countries.

Meanwhile, the efforts of 100,000 or more rescue personnel on the ground are being hampered by logistical hurdles including vehicle shortages and devastated roads.

Read more here.

Good morning.

It's been five days since a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. More than 21,000 people are now known to have died, and search and rescue efforts continue throughout the region as freezing conditions threaten to cause more deaths.

We will be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day.

We'll shortly be pausing our live coverage. Here's a recap of what's happened today:

• More than 20,000 people are now known to have died after Monday's earthquakes
• The first convoy of aid has arrived in northern Syria after damage blocked the route for four days
• Several countries have announced aid packages for the region. Ukrainian personnel have joined the rescue effort on the ground and the UK is setting up a field hospital
• But the World Health Organization has warned of a secondary health crisis as survivors are stuck without shelter, food, water and power

You can continue to read about what's happened by following the story of the people offering to adopt the baby pulled from rubble or a look into the collapsed buildings meant to withstand earthquakes.

Freezing conditions are threatening the lives of thousands of survivors – you can read more details here.

Today's page was brought to you by Emma Owen, Anna Boyd, Alys Davies, Alex Binley, Oliver Slow, Malu Cursino, Lauren Turner, Nathan Williams, Rob Corp and Megan Fisher.

A doctor treating victims of the earthquake in northern Syria has urged countries to increase medical aid.

Dr Mohamed Hassoun, who works at the Al-Shifa and Atme hospitals in rebel-held northern Syria, tells the BBC Radio 4's World Tonight Programme more than 350 people died at his two hospitals in the first day after the earthquake struck.

“After that the number of dead increased very rapidly because people were taking their dead loved ones straight to their homes or straight to the cemeteries," says Dr Hassoun.

"The medical supplies that we have don't even cover the needs of 20% of the people in northern Syria."

Asked for his message to the wider world, he says: “Please, please increase your medical supplies, aid and training so that we can treat more people.”

Dr Hassoun's family across the border in Turkey were left trapped under rubble following the quake. He says he struggled with the decision to initially stay in Syria to treat victims of the earthquake there.

"Just thinking that my family is under the rubble of an apartment block was just beyond comprehension."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who leads the UN public health body WHO, has revealed he's on his way to Syria. He announced it in a tweet saying the WHO is "supporting essential health care" there.

The body has already warned a potential second disaster could strike survivors in Turkey and Syria because of the harsh conditions following the quake. Thousands of people have been stuck without shelter, food, water and power.

It's been difficult getting aid into Syria as the UN is authorised to use just one border crossing.

The first convoy crossed the border from Turkey only today. This shipment had been due before the earthquake but was stuck after the roads were damaged.

Husni Al-Barazi is founder of Syrian humanitarian organisation Big Heart Foundation – six members of his own team were killed when the earthquake struck.

"They, like everybody else, were sleeping, caught in the most horrible experience," he tells the BBC.

They were based across the border from Syria, in the Turkish province of Hatay.

"In 12 years of our work in training as an emergency relief organisation inside Syria… we've seen it almost all, but… emergency response, protocol... all of that went out of the door because none of the communications worked."

Al-Barazi says that for the first 30 hours after the quake struck, they lost all contact with their team on the ground, because the massive damage to the area.

Later, he learned what had happened – and was able to deploy to the area to help the 28 staff and families who had survived. Al-Barazi says they were stranded in a small park, and his team were able to evacuate them from the area.

He describes the scenes as difficult to take in, even for an agency well-trained in emergency response.

Al-Barazi says he has another team across the border in Syria that is still functional, and he plans to go there tomorrow to assess the situation.

Image source, Reuters

Much of the reporting about the impact of Monday’s earthquakes has been coming from Turkey – but we’re working to bring you as much information as we can from Syria as well.

Monday’s tremors occurred close to Turkey’s border with Syria, and there have been at least 3,300 deaths there from the quakes. Even before they hit, residents were relying on assistance to survive, due to the civil war that has been ongoing since 2011.

That civil war also explains the challenges of getting reliable information out of Syria.

Northern Syria in particular is deeply fragmented when it comes to which groups control which areas. The regime of President Bashar al-Assad controls much of the country, but the picture gets more convoluted the closer you get to the Turkish border, with various rebel groups, Kurdish-led forces and jihadist groups each controlling different pockets.

To add to the challenge, even within rebel-held territory, jihadist groups also run their own media operations.

Each of these groups have different approaches in how they provide information.

Throughout the course of the war, it has only been possible to collect information on developments by piecing together reports from rival outlets, each focussing on particular areas - and many pursuing their own editorial agenda.

On top of this, the volatile nature of the conflict, and the varied areas of control, also makes it difficult for journalists to travel about freely and safely - something that is generally possible in Turkey.

The UK government has just announced a support package to help survivors of the earthquake.

Tonight a military plane will leave the UK, as Britain commits to sending equipment and staff to set up a field hospital with a 24/7 operating theatre. Thousands of tents, thermal blankets and hygiene kits will be sent to the disaster zone.

It comes as the World Bank says it will give $1.78 billion in aid. Earlier, the US pledged an initial $85 million.

Shadow of 1999 quake still haunts Turkeypublished at 20:44 GMT 9 February 2023

20:44 GMT 9 February 2023

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, TURKISH PRESIDENCY/ MURAT CETINMUHURDAR/HANDOUT

Turkey's president spoke slowly and deliberately as he gave the latest details of deaths and injuries from Monday's double earthquake disaster. It has now claimed more than lives in Turkey and neighbouring Syria, more than the 1999 quake in northern Turkey.

"We were confronted with the worst earthquake this region has ever seen in its history," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he toured two cities close to the Syrian border.

This is a tragedy for Syria as much as it is for Turkey, so it was fitting that he toured first Osmaniye and then Kilis.

But Turks are asking why this disaster has been even more deadly than the Marmara quake 24 years ago when more than 17,000 people were killed.

That disaster led to an overhaul of building rules and a special tax to fund disaster prevention and improve emergency services, and yet more than 6,000 buildings have collapsed in Turkey alone.

After 20 years in power, Erdogan and his ruling AKP are in danger of losing elections planned for May, if they are blamed for mismanaging preparations or for a sluggish response.

At a time of national emergency this may seem an odd time for politics, but opposition leaders visited the disaster zone before the president and there is little sign of national unity.

Image source, Getty Images

The image of a newborn baby pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in north-west Syria moved many people earlier this week.

The girl, who has been called Aya (meaning miracle in Arabic), was still connected to her mother by her umbilical cord. But she had lost not only her mother in the disaster, but her father and all four siblings.

A distant relative was there when she was pulled to safety and took her to a paediatrician in the city of Afrin. She is still in hospital in a stable condition - and now thousands of people have offered to adopt her on social media.

Hospital manager Khalid Attiah has also received dozens of calls from all around the world with offers to look after her.

But Dr Attiah, who has a daughter four months older than Aya, said: "I won't allow anyone to adopt her now. Until her distant family return, I'm treating her like one of my own."

For now, his wife is breastfeeding her alongside their own child.

Read more here.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says a new disaster could be facing the survivors of Monday's earthquakes.

"It's a second disaster looming unless we act very, very fast, meaning shelter, food, water, and medicine because it's freezing cold," Dr Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe, tells the BBC.

He says most communities in war-torn Syria depend on water reservoirs, which are elevated and were the first to fall due to the earthquake.

Dr Kluge says these reservoirs need urgent replacement, as the country faces cholera outbreaks - which were an issue even before the earthquake, he adds.

Earlier, the WHO said humanitarian organisations in the region now face the challenge of ensuring those who survived the earthquakes can continue to survive amid "horrific conditions".

WHO's incident response manager said thousands remain out in the open, in worsening conditions and with disrupted access to electricity, fuel, communications and water.

Lyse Doucet
Reporting from Osmaniye

Image source, Getty Images

There was an extraordinary scene a few hours ago where there was a rush and a roar.

People went as close as they could to the buildings because rescue teams thought they had found something - but what they pulled out was not a loved one alive but another dead body.

Then, a cry of two young women rose from the crowds - this overwhelming grief that they realised all their hope was now gone.

The grief was so overwhelming that they fell to the ground and people rushed to try to pick them up. It’s so heart-breaking.

This is a scene that’s been played out in neighbourhood after neighbourhood, street after street, in cities, towns and villages across southern Turkey and, of course, across the border in Syria as well.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have sent a message of solidarity following the earthquakes.

In a message posted on Twitter, William and Catherine, external wrote: "We have been horrified to see the harrowing images coming out of Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquakes this week.

"Our thoughts are with the communities affected and we are pleased to support the @decappeal, external campaign which will aid the response on the ground."