NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED IN THE EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY AND SYRIA COULD BE 55,000: Prediction of Head of Humanitarian Aid

The number of deaths in the powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria “will double or more” compared to the current level of about 28,000, said UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Grifits.

He predicts that the total number of casualties could be 55,000. Grifits arrived on Saturday in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras in the south of the country, the epicenter of the first earthquake of 7.8 degrees on the Richter scale before dawn on Monday.

He said of the number of deaths in an interview with Sky News on Saturday: “I think it is difficult to accurately estimate how much needs to be found under the rubble, but I am sure it will double or more.”

“We haven’t started counting the dead yet,” he said.

Officials and medics said that 24,617 people were killed in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total number now stands at 28,191. Tens of thousands of rescuers are searching flattened neighbourhoods despite the cold weather that has deepened the plight of millions now desperately in need of help.

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need warm meals across Turkey and Syria.

Only in Syria may have up to 5.3 million people become homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday when it issued an appeal for $42.8 million to address urgent health needs.