Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Turkey and Syria five days ago surpassed 28,000. Rescuers also pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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10:27pm: Death toll tops 28,000 as some aid operations are suspended due to security reasons
Officials and medics said 24,617 people had died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 28,191.
Although many rescues happened on Saturday, security concerns led some aid operations to be suspended, and 48 people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, state media reported.
Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.
8:38pm: Turkey arrests 48 for looting, defrauding quake victims, state media says
Turkish authorities have arrested 48 people for looting or trying to defraud victims after a powerful earthquake hit Turkey, state media reported on Saturday.
The suspects were held in eight different provinces as part of investigations into looting after Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region, news agency Anadolu said.
It later reported that 42 suspects were held for looting in southern Hatay province, while six were arrested over defrauding a victim in Gaziantep by telephone.
7:03pm: Survivors still being rescued five days after quake, including entire families and children
Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Turkey and Syria five days ago surpassed 25,000. Rescuers also pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday.
Dramatic rescues were being broadcast on Turkish television, including the rescue of the Narli family in central Kahramanmaras 133 hours after the quake struck early Monday. First, 12-year-old Nehir Naz Narli was saved, then both of her parents.
That followed the rescue earlier in the day of a family of five from a mound of debris in the hard-hit town of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep province, TV network HaberTurk reported. Rescuers cheered and chanted, “God is Great!” as the last family member, the father, was lifted to safety.
In the city of Antakya, a two-month-old baby was found alive 128 hours after the quake, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Tens of thousands of local and international rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.
3:52pm: Death toll rises above 25,000 in both countries
The death toll from a catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria climbed to more than 25,000 on Saturday, as rescuers worked in freezing weather to find people alive.
Officials and medics said 21,848 people had died in Turkey and 3,553 in Syria from Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 25,401.
3pm: Turkey detains 12 over collapsed buildings after quake, media reports
Turkish police have detained 12 people over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, local media reported on Saturday, following the huge quake that hit Turkey.
Those taken into custody included contractors, DHA news agency said. At least 6,000 buildings collapsed after a 7.8-magnitude tremor hit the region, killing more than 25,000 people, sparking anger over the poor quality of housing.
There are expected to be more detentions after the public prosecutor in Diyarbakir, one of 10 southeastern provinces affected by the quake, issued arrest warrants for 29 people on Saturday, state news agency reported.
One of those detained Saturday was a contractor for a building in Gaziantep, the agency said, adding he was found by police in Istanbul.
1:27pm: Armenia-Turkey crossing opened for first time in 35 years after quake
A border crossing between Armenia and Turkey opened for the first time in 35 years on Saturday, to allow humanitarian aid through after a massive earthquake hit the region, an official said.
Five trucks with aid including food and water arrived in Turkey from the Alican border crossing, Serdar Kilic, Turkey's special envoy for dialogue with Armenia, said on Twitter. State news agency Anadolu said this was the first time it had opened since 1988.
12:23am: Turkey to act against those involved in looting, says Erdogan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday the government would take action against those involved in looting and other crimes in the region affected by this week's devastating earthquakes.
Speaking during a visit to the quake zone, Erdogan said hundreds of thousands of buildings were uninhabitable across southern Turkey and that authorities would take steps to start rebuilding damaged cities within weeks.
The death toll in Turkey has risen to 21,043, he said.
12:10am: UN aid chief says earthquake is region's 'worst event in 100 years'
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described on Saturday the devastating earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northwestern Syria as the "worst event in 100 years in this region".
Speaking during a news briefing in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, Griffiths also lauded Turkey's response to the disaster as "extraordinary".
He also told Reuters he hoped in Syria aid would go to both government and opposition-held areas, but that things with this regard were "not clear yet".
11:44am: Turkish company to send ships to house 3,000 in earthquake zone
Turkey's Karadeniz Holding said on Saturday it would send two humanitarian aid ships that can each house 1,500 people to help the relief effort in the southern province of Hatay, hit by a major earthquake that has claimed more than 20,000 lives.
"The company is working with the authorities to send lifeships Suheyla Sultan and Rauf Bey to Iskenderun-Hatay," the company said, adding this would be its first humanitarian mission.
The so-called lifeships, built for humanitarian aid missions, have accommodation, fridges, TVs and heating, as well as facilities for education, healthcare and food, the company said.
11:44am: Austrian army suspends Turkey quake rescue
The Austrian army on Saturday suspended rescue operations in quake-ravaged Turkey due to a worsening "security situation", a spokesman said.
"There have been clashes between groups," he told AFP without giving details.
The spokesman said the 82 soldiers from the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit were sheltering in the southern Hatay province "in a base camp with other international organisations, awaiting instructions".
They had arrived in Hatay on Tuesday with 45 tonnes of equipment and were able to rescue nine people from rubble.
9:30am: 'Anger is brewing amid the grief'
"Authorities aren't letting people return home even if their damaged residences are still standing," reports Shona Bhattacharya from Osmaniye, Turkey. She adds that last Friday, the minister of urban planning announced 4,000 experts would be examining buildings to determine if they were safe to return to or not.
9:09am: Earthquake compounds Turkish leader's woes as election nears
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power 20 years ago riding a wave of public outrage toward the previous government's handling of a deadly earthquake.
Now, three months away from an election, Erdogan’s political future could hinge on how the public perceives his government's response to a similarly devastating natural disaster.
“It is going to be a big challenge for Erdogan, who has established a brand for himself as an autocratic figure but an efficient one that gets the job done,” said Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey expert at the Washington Institute and the author of several books on Erdogan.
The aftermath of a massive earthquake isn't the only parallel to the election of 2002. Back then, Turkey was in the midst of a financial crisis that was punishing its economy.
7:22am: Aid trickles in as Turkey-Syria quake toll passes 24,000
A winter freeze in the affected areas has hurt rescue efforts and compounded the suffering of millions of people, many in desperate need of aid.
At least 870,000 people urgently needed food in the two countries after the quake, which has left up to 5.3 million people homeless in Syria alone, the UN warned.
Aftershocks following Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor have added to the death toll and further upended the lives of survivors.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
