LIVE UPDATES: Death Toll From Turkiye Earthquake Exceeds 12,000

Rescue teams with equipment are what Turkiye and Syria need the most following the devastating earthquakes, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told Sputnik.

"We see a major challenge in those areas where you don't have rescue search and rescue teams with equipment that is needed and with necessary machinery that is required," Castellanos said.

Turkiye and Syria were rattled on Monday by a pair of major earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks that killed more than 10,000 people and collapsed thousands of homes. Syria's death toll has topped 1,200 people.

Russian rescue teams are working on the ground in both countries. In Syria, Russian military are involved in rescue operations.

According to the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), the death toll from the quakes has risen to 12,391, while the number of injured is estimated at 62,914.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) estimates its cumulative initial response to the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria at 200 million Swiss francs ($217 million), IFRC Under-Secretary-General for Operations Coordination Xavier Castellanos told Sputnik.

"We came out with an emergency bill of 200 million Swiss francs: 120 million goes to Turkey, and 80 million to Syria," Castellanos said in an interview.

This amount is expected to cover a 12-month period of time, he noted.

The IFRC will need several months to determine the final amount of relief aid necessary to respond to the Turkiye-Syria earthquake, according to Castellanos.

The two countries were rattled on Monday by a pair of major earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks that killed more than 10,000 people and collapsed thousands of homes.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will send his emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths to Turkiye to assess the country's needs as it recovers from a deadly earthquake that hit earlier this week, a UN source told Sputnik.

Turkish authorities are planning to resume the work of two border checkpoints with Syria to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid after devastating earthquakes hit the two nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

The minister recalled that the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing is operating within the United Nations, but the roads leading to the checkpoint in Syria were destroyed after the earthquakes, making it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the victims.

"In this regard, we are working to reopen two more checkpoints. This is a question of humanity, not politics, so we are working to ensure that these checkpoints are also open from the side controlled by the Syrian regime," Cavusoglu said in a televised appearance on national television.

The minister added that Turkiye has authorized the use of its airspace for Syrian aid planes bound for Aleppo airport, controlled by the authorities in Damascus. Some planes brought humanitarian aid to both nations, and Ankara transferred the aid to Damascus as the situation there is no less catastrophic.

The EU aims to bring together neighboring countries, UN members, international lenders and other stakeholders. The conference will be co-chaired by EU Neighborhood Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Johan Forssell.

Due to the fact that Kahramanmaras is located on the hills in the midlands and its streets are very narrow, the buildings already damaged in prior quakes are suffering continuous collapses during ongoing aftershocks, Martynov said.

"At the moment, 9,057 people were killed, 52,979 were injured," Erdogan said.

It is also working closely with US European Command on options to send support to Turkiye.

Firefighters, aviation of Turkiye's ministry of defense and ministry of agriculture of Turkiye, as well as other specialists, who arrived from various cities in Turkiye, are participating in the operation.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkiye has risen to 8,574, while another 49,133 people have been injured, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

"According to the latest data, 8,574 people were killed, 49,133 were injured," Erdogan told reporters.

About 6,444 buildings were destroyed by the natural disaster.

"Earlier today, also this morning, we have also received a request form the government of Syria to the EU for assistance through the civil protection mechanism. We shared this request with EU member states, and we are encouraging them to contribute the assistance as requested," Lenarcic said during a press conference.

According to the commissioner, Syria is in need of a large number of supplies, including medicines, medical equipment, and food.

“In the town of Jeble, Syrian and Russian rescuers are removing the rubble, pulling people out from under the rubble. Russian rescue workers have managed to save a young man and a child who had been trapped under the rubble for 40 hours. The victims were taken to a local hospital. Rescue operations are also still going on in Latakia. According to the latest data, several dozen people are still under the rubble. Specialists not only from Russia, but also from other countries, including Arab countries, are working in Aleppo,” he added.

The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye has reached 7,108 while another 40,910 people have been injured, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Wednesday.

Earlier reports indicated that 6,957 were killed and 38,224 were injured.

"According to the latest data, the death toll has risen to 7,108, and 40,910 have been injured," the AFAD said in a statement.

Borsa Istanbul, the stock exchange of Turkiye, has decided to temporarily stop trading on Wednesday.

"It was decided to temporarily suspend operations on the stock markets and derivative stock indices on the stock market and the derivatives market," the stock exchange said in a statement, as quoted by the state-run TRT Haber broadcaster.

The scale of destruction by the earthquake is large and will have some consequences, but in terms of energy cooperation between Russia and Turkiye, it is developing in accordance with the plans that were approved and agreed upon at the highest level, the diplomat said.

UNESCO will invite its experts to assess the damage caused to the historical fortress of Gaziantep in Turkiye and the citadel of Aleppo in Syria as a result of the earthquake, the organization's spokesman, Thomas Mallard, told RIA Novosti.

The historic Gaziantep Castle in Turkiye and the Aleppo citadel in Syria, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, were hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Monday morning.

"UNESCO will engage its experts, together with its partners, such as ICOMOS [International Council on Monuments and Sites] to compile an accurate damage assessment in order to quickly protect and stabilize these sites," Mallard said.

UNESCO is particularly concerned about the state of the Syrian city of Aleppo after the earthquake, as the citadel there has significant damage.

"The organization has carried out with its partners an initial assessment of heritage damage. In Syria, UNESCO is particularly concerned about the condition of the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the List of World Heritage and is under threat. Significant damage is observed in the citadel," Mallard added.

He noted that the western tower in the old part of the city had collapsed and there were several buildings whose structures had been damaged and weakened.

So far, there are no reports on whether Kim sent a message of condolence to Turkiye, which suffered more damage from the earthquake.