The death toll following the devastating earthquake which struck at the border of Turkey and Syria has surpassed 21,500, according to reports.
Rescue efforts are continuing, four days after the natural disaster, to find anyone who remains trapped under the rubble of the many buildings that came crashing down.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and without essentials after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks hit across both countries.
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It now places in the the history books as the seventh most deadly natural disaster of this century, ahead of Japan's 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 18,000 people.
Meanwhile, Irish-based international aid agency GOAL has confirmed that 26 of its workers have been confirmed dead in the earthquake.
It said that its teams are working to trace a number of staff who remain unaccounted for, and is also trying to support the ongoing search and rescue mission.
In a statement, GOAL said that never in its history has it experienced the loss of colleagues on such a scale.
A spokesperson said: "This evening, GOAL, the Irish-based international humanitarian organisation, with long-term operations in Southern Türkiye and NW Syria confirmed that as of today, the number of GOAL colleagues who tragically lost their lives in the violent earthquake that struck the region last Monday stands at 26.
"Teams are still working around the clock to account for a number of staff still unaccounted for while also supporting the overall search and rescue mission."
CEO of GOAL, Siobhan Walsh said: "To say it has been a profoundly difficult week for the GOAL Teams in Türkiye and Syria cannot be overstated.
"Because of the sheer geography of destruction, and GOAL’s long-term presence in the communities so severely impacted, the scale of loss is far beyond anything we could have ever imagined."
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