Susanna Reid was emotional on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning as the ITV show discussed the devastating Turkey and Syria earthquake.
Susanna was joined by co-host Ben Shephard in the studio as they provided the latest updates on the 7.8 magnitude quake, which struck in the early hours of Monday while residents were sleeping.
Good Morning Britain aired video footage of the search and rescue operation now underway, with an international aid effort being ramped up as the death toll passed 4,800, with numbers expected to rise.
Watching the footage, Susanna said: “I can hardly bear to talk about it really, because when you see children taken out of the rubble, but you know how many children are trapped. It's a desperate situation.
“You almost want everyone to put politics and international tensions completely aside and – it sounds naïve and hopelessly optimistic – but just say, whatever you’ve got, whoever you are, get your equipment in there and get as many of these people out as possible.”
In the studio, Susanna was joined by The Mirror journalist Kevin Maguire, who replied: “The rescuers, parents, neighbours – they will be hearing the screams and cries of people trapped under and that’s just unimaginable horror.
“They’re having to remove a lot of debris by hand because they can’t use heavy equipment. People will be injured. They won't have water. They won't have food.”
Susanna said: “Oh my goodness. Desperate, desperate scenes. The things that people must be having to deal with out there.
“You can only imagine. Good luck to everyone. Our hopes are with them.”
Experts have warned deaths could potentially reach 20,000. Catherine Smallwood from the World Health Organization told AFP that ‘eightfold increases on the initial numbers’ in similar earthquakes were common due to further collapses of buildings.
Turkey's disaster and emergencies agency confirmed in their latest update that over 2,000 personnel from 65 countries have been sent to help the search and rescue operation after thousands of buildings collapsed across both Turkey and Syria.
After Turkey issued an international appeal for aid in the crisis, countries including the US and South Korea are sending help, with hundreds of cranes and vehicles in use on the ground.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
