Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 19,000 on Thursday.
The rescue of a two-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Türkiye, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities.
The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest Türkiye.
Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250 km from the epicenter.
Tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in the catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires in the bitter cold and clamored for food and water Thursday.
Winter weather and damage to roads and airports have hampered the response in both Türkiye and Syria.
