Turkey-Syria earthquake Death toll crosses 37,000

The hope of finding survivors in one of the deadliest earthquakes in Turkey and Syria seems to be fading as the rescue operation entered its final hours on Monday. Rescuers using sniffer dogs and thermal cameras surveyed pulverized apartment blocks for any sign of life a week after the 7.8 magnitude disaster that killed over 37,000 people – 31,643 in Turkey and 5,714 in Syria.

Rescuers in Turkey pulled several people alive from collapsed buildings on Monday, a week after the country’s worst earthquake in modern history, but hopes of many more survivors were fading and criticism of the authorities grew.