Turkey -Syria death troll passes to 21,000

At least 17,674 deaths have been reported in Turkey, while 3,377 people have died in Syria. The death toll is likely to keep rising.

Hopes of finding people alive have dimmed and experts fear the toll could rise sharply.

Turkish authorities say some 13.5 million people have been affected in an area spanning roughly 450km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300km (186 miles) from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south.

Search teams from more than two dozen countries have joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel in Syria and Turkey.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 70 countries had offered help in search-and-rescue operations and that Turkey planned to open up hotels in the tourism hub of Antalya, to the west, to temporarily house people affected.

Volunteers from across Syria and Turkey have travelled many miles to help victims of Monday’s earthquakes in any way they can. Away from the affected regions, people have rushed to donate blood, clothing and food for survivors.