35,000 more feared buried

ANKARA, AUG 20: The powerful earthquake that struck northwest Turkey has so far claimed 8,713 lives and left another 34,076 people wounde...

ANKARA, AUG 20: The powerful earthquake that struck northwest Turkey has so far claimed 8,713 lives and left another 34,076 people wounded and an estimated 35,000 unaccounted for, the Government Crisis Centre here said on Friday.

Israel has sent more than 380 rescue workers and doctors as well as sniffer dogs to Turkey to help in the search for survivors. It is also setting up a field hospital. Turkish authorities have informed the United Nations that an estimated 35,000 people lie under the rubble, a top UN disaster relief official said on Friday.

Sergio Piazzi, head of the European desk at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA, told a news briefing in Geneva, quot;An estimated 35,000 people are under the rubble.quot; When asked to clarify, he replied, quot;This is from the Turkish authorities. This is an estimate.quot;

When asked whether the final death toll could soar above 40,000 with 35,000 trapped under the debris, Piazzi replied:,quot;My answer is it is a possibility.quot;

But Piazzi saidthat 2,000 specialists and 120 search dogs were combing affected areas and there was a quot;very high chance to find many people because of the type of collapsed buildings, with space between the floorsquot;.

Turkish Minister Sukru Sine Gurel said, quot;The rescue operation has been very slow. But tens of thousands of buildings have been wrecked. To operate swiftly, we need tens of thousands of rescue teams which is beyond the ability of any government in the world to mobilise.quot;

In the hardest-hit province of Izmit alone, 3,264 people died and some 11,750 were injured, while in neighbouring Sakarya 2,794 died and 4,000 were hurt, the Centre said in a statement carried by the Anatolia News Agency.

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In Yalova, on the sea of Marmara, some 1,300 were killed and close to 4,921 injured.

In Turkey8217;s economic capital Istanbul, the toll reached 984 dead and more than 9,500 were hurt. In Bolu, Bursa, Eskisehir and Zonguldak, about 400 were killed. In these four provinces as well as Tekirdag in northwestern Thrace, 3,855people were hurt, the Centre said.

The tremor, measuring 7.4 on the open-ended Richter Scale, struck Turkey on Tuesday and lasted some 45 seconds.

Meanwhile, an 11-year-old Turkish girl buried alive beneath the rubble has been rescued by Israeli soldiers. An Israeli army statement said the soldiers dug for 17 hours to reach the girl, who was trapped under a collapsed building in the town of Cinarcik, near the city of Yalova in western Turkey. The girl, who was not named, is receiving treatment and her condition is unclear.

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quot;It8217;s surprising that she managed to survive,quot; said a doctor from the Israeli team. He said that only the girl8217;s left cheek and mouth had been visible when searchers first heard her voice.

quot;During the long hours while we rescued her, we managed to teach her a few words in Hebrew and we built a lot of trust,quot; the doctor told Israel radio.

He said he had hugged the girl when she was pulled free.