The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquake and more than 300 aftershocks in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria topped 5,000 Tuesday, authorities said, as crews raced to try to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings. The aftershocks made the searching itself dangerous.
A magnitude 5.7 temblor hit Tuesday, officials said.
But Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay told reporters Tuesday that 800 people had been pulled from under rubble. He said there were 20,000 people in national rescue teams.
Tens of thousands of people were injured in the two nations.
An untold number more were left homeless in cold winter conditions.
Nations from around the world began sending aid to the region. Oktay said rescue teams from 14 countries were already in Turkey and teams from 70 more were expected as the day progressed.
World Health Organization says "race against time" to save survivors
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was "now a race against time" to rescue people trapped after yesterday's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
"Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes," Tedros said.
The WHO boss said that rescue efforts were hampered by continued aftershocks, damage to infrastructure, and severe winter conditions.
"We are especially concerned about areas where we do not yet have information. Damage mapping is ongoing, to understand where we need to focus our attention," Tedros said.
He said the WHO was sending three charter flights to both Turkey and Syria with medical supplies, including surgical trauma kits.
"This is a moment when we must come together in solidarity, as one humanity, to save lives and alleviate the suffering of people who have already suffered so much," Tedros said.
Breaking down the latest details on deaths
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said the total number of deaths in his nation had risen to 3,419, with another 20,534 people injured.
The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 812 people, with some 1,450 injured, according to the Health Ministry.
In the nation's rebel-held northwest, the opposition's Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, the paramedic group leading rescue operations, said at least 790 had been killed and more than 2,200 injured. Those numbers were expected to "rise dramatically," the Reuters news service quoted the White Helmets as saying.
-- The Associated Press contributed reporting
WHO: Quake could impact 23 million people
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that Monday's earthquake and aftershocks in northeastern Turkey and northern Syria could affect as many as 23 million people, Agence France-Presse reports.
AFP says WHO senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang told the U.N. health agency's executive committee, "Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations."
