first food distribution in Iskenderun

With now 11,700 dead, the macabre count continues in Turkey and Syria after the earthquake. Rescuers are trying to find survivors in the rubble despite very difficult weather conditions. The crucial milestone of 72 hours is approaching, beyond which there will be little hope. In the Turkish town of Iskenderun, on the border with Syria, survivors are totally dependent on the aid that arrives in dribs and drabs.

Tension rises between survivors

Diapers, soap, bread, in a street of Iskenderun survivors of the earthquake are queuing in the back of a truck chartered by the State for its basic products. “We have money, but everything is closed,” laments one of the residents. But quickly, the tension rises between exhausted and hungry survivors who accuse each other of doubling in line, under the gaze of the mayor of the district. “It’s normal that it’s tense. These people are victims, they’re hungry. It’s the third day and it’s only today that help is coming,” he laments.

Along a crumbling boulevard, a team of Spanish rescuers is looking for survivors in the rubble. Emilio, one of them, is struck by the extent of the damage. “For me, it’s the first time I’ve seen something so impressive, absolute, Dantesque, incredible devastation. We pulled a dead person and a living person out of the rubble. It’s very cold, but it’s not not the only danger. The danger is a new aftershock that would cause other falls”, he underlines. There are still probably other people under the rubble, but Emilio’s team no longer detects traces of life and must go to another site.

As for Turkish President Erdogan, he visited the province of Hatay where he recognized shortcomings in the response to the earthquake. Critics are indeed on Turkish social networks to denounce the lack of effort of relief.