Earthquake rescue work moves slowly as death toll nears 5,000

● In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 3,381 people

● The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city

Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble, as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria approached 5,000 on Tuesday, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts, foreign news agencies reported yesterday.

In the Turkish city of Antakya near the Syrian border, where 10-storey buildings had crumbled onto the streets, Reuters journalists saw rescue work being conducted on one out of dozens of mounds of rubble.

The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city.

The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria early on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.

In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 3,381 people, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said.