The death toll in the devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey crossed 16,000 people on Thursday afternoon.
On Monday, a powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria followed by three more earthquakes.
Officials in Turkey said that the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the town of Nurdagi.
Hours later, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck southeastern Turkey’s Kahramanmaras region. It occurred at a depth of 7 km earthquake and the epicenter of the quake was the Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras province.
The earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck central Turkey later on Monday evening.
The Turkish president Erdogan, who faces a tough battle for reelection in May, acknowledged problems with the emergency response to Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, but said the winter weather had been a factor. The earthquake also destroyed the runway at Hatay’s airport, further disrupting the response.
In Syria, meanwhile, The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has announced that it sent on Thursday a team of rescue workers with a first batch of medical supplies to Syria to assist in relief operations and to face the repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on Monday dawn.
“The society sent the supplies that meet the needs of about 5,000 people at the request of the Syrian embassy in Beijing and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent,” Xinhua said.