The death toll from the earthquake that brought unimaginable catastrophe to Turkey and Syria this week has passed 16,000 as of Thursday, according to the latest figures. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency has recorded at least 12,873 fatalities so far, while the Syrian government says at least 3,162 have been killed in its territory. In rebel-held regions of northwestern Syria, the White Helmets volunteer organization says at least 1,900 have died. It’s the deadliest earthquake in Turkey since 1999, when over 17,000 people died in a similar disaster. Search teams are still desperately trying to rescue any remaining survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings while thousands of families have been left homeless by the powerful tremor.
