Follow the latest on the earthquake in Turkey
The UN was urged on Tuesday to open up new aid routes to Syria amid fears that radio silence from the country is a sign of a terrifying earthquake death toll.
Britain said it was working to open corridors via Turkey as the world's response to the earthquake collides with the politics of the region.
While images pour in of colossal damage on the Turkish side of the border, Mike Noyes, humanitarian director for the charity ActionAid, said a lack of information from Syria was especially alarming.
“There might not even be anyone on the ground to ask,” he told The National.
At least 5,000 people are believed dead in Turkey and Syria after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and severe aftershocks.
Hundreds of the victims were in opposition-held northern Syria, which receives wartime aid via a single crossing point from Turkey.
A UN resolution allows it to enter without the approval of President Bashar Al Assad's government. But other crossing points from Iraq and Jordan have been closed amid wrangling with Russia, an ally of Mr Assad, on the UN Security Council.
A UN spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the flow of aid from Turkey had temporarily halted because of damage to roads in the earthquake.
“Some roads are broken, some are inaccessible. There are logistical issues that need to be worked through,” spokeswoman Madevi Sun-Suon said.
ActionAid, which is sending staff from the UK to Jordan to free up colleagues with local language skills, is asking for donations to help buy tents, food and warm clothing for people affected by the earthquake.
Mr Noyes expressed concern about women and girls being abused while in a shelter with unknown strangers, who might offer food and warmth that it would be “tempting to take”, based on evidence from previous disasters.
Another challenge is that local humanitarian staff have themselves been affected by the earthquake and even lost family members, but they still continue trying to help, he said.
“It’s a challenge to be overcome, not a reason to stop doing it,” he said.
Earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria — in pictures
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A child being rescued from the rubble in this screengrab obtained from social media, in Bisnia in Syria. Reuters -
A rescued boy is given water in a bottle cap in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters -
A woman carries a box of food in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters -
'We were screaming for help until people came to help us and they took us to the hospital', said Hamid from Homs who was injured in a building collapse. Matt Kynaston / The National -
Palestinians attend a vigil to exress solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria in Khan Yunius in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
A collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey after a major earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6. EPA -
A Syrian man cries as he sits on the rubble of a collapsed building in the rebel-held town of Jindayris. AFP -
A man carries a girl who was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA -
Members of the Turkish community in Berlin gather humanitarian aid. EPA -
A Turkish soldier in front of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA -
The rubble of buildings in the village of Besnaya in Syria's Idlib province. AFP -
Russian rescuers search for survivors in the town of Jableh in Syria's Latakia province. AFP -
A photo taken with a drone shows an aerial view over collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey. EPA -
Destruction in Hatay city centre. AP -
Members of the Turkish community in Berlin collect aid to support victims. Reuters -
An injured man is carried to an ambulance after being rescued from the rubble in Hatay. Reuters -
A man carries an aid box in Hatay. Getty -
Bags of wood for fires are distributed in Hatay Turkey. Getty -
A man trapped in rubble waits while debris is removed in Hatay. AFP -
Residents look for their relatives in Hatay. AFP -
Rescuers look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake's epicentre. AFP -
Emergency personnel search for victims at the site of a collapsed building in the city of Iskenderun. EPA -
Muhammet Ruzgar, five, is carried by rescuers from the site of a damaged building in Hatay. Reuters -
A newborn found attached by her umbilical cord to her mother and pulled alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria receives care at a clinic in Afrin. AFP -
Women grieve in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters -
Smoke billows at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun, Turkey. Getty -
An Iraqi plane offloads aid at Damascus airport in Syria. Reuters -
Two people cry near rubble in Turkey's Hatay province. Reuters -
A damaged building in Iskenderun. EPA -
Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun. EPA -
Cennet Sucu is rescued from beneath the rubble of collapsed hospital in Iskenderun. Reuters -
Security forces load Red Crescent aid on to a plane destined for Syria at a military base in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters -
People rest next to fire amid the rubble in Hatay, after a 7. 8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey's south-east. AFP -
Rescuers board a charter plane in Cologne, Germany, as they head to Turkey to assist in the search for find survivors of the quake. Reuters -
Injured survivors wait to be treated at a field hospital in Iskenderun,Turkey. Getty -
Residents of Turkish city Adana gather at the scene of a collapsed building. The death toll in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 2,000 after the region's strongest quake in nearly a century. AFP -
Residents search for survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in the village of Besnia, in Syria's north-western Idlib province. AFP -
A rescuer carries a Syrian toddler, Raghad Ismail, away from the rubble of a building. Reuters -
Residents wait anxiously as rescue operations take place in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters -
Rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble in Diyarbakir. Reuters -
Residents search for survivors in Besnia, Syria. AFP -
A Syrian man weeps as he carries the body of his son who was killed in an earthquake in the town of Jandaris. AFP -
A wounded man in Jandaris. AFP -
Rescue workers search for survivors in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters -
A man carries a girl to safety following the earthquake, in Jandaris, Syria. Reuters -
People receive treatment at Al Rahma hospital in the Syrian town of Darkush. AFP -
Rescuers carry a girl from a collapsed building, in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters -
A survivor is extracted from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP -
The aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 in Adana, Turkey. Reuters -
Rescuers work near the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. Reuters -
Turkish sweet vendors at Dubai Waterfront Market watch earthquake updates on a phone. Victor Besa / The National -
Hayri Aggül and Ismet Guven watch the latest news on the disaster. Victor Besa / The National -
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad (C) leads an emergency cabinet meeting in the capital, Damascus. EPA -
Hundreds of people were killed as they slept. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National -
Rescue teams search for survivors in Idlib, Syria. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National -
Rescue teams look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP -
A desperate search for survivors in Aleppo. AFP -
Despair in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey. AFP -
An injured survivor is pulled from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP -
Relatives face an anxious wait as emergency teams search for survivors in Diyarbakir. EPA -
Damage caused by the earthquake in Idlib, north-western Syria. Moawia Atrash for The National -
An injured child is plucked from the rubble of a building following the earthquake in rebel-held Azaz, Syria. Reuters -
A Syrian Civil Defence team recovering victims of the earthquake in Idlib. Moawia Atrash for The National -
Tremors were felt as far away as Cyprus, Egypt and Iraq. Moawia Atrash for The National -
Destruction in the rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria. Reuters -
People search through rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters -
A car is smashed up by fallen debris in Azaz. Reuters -
Damaged vehicles after the powerful earthquake in Diyarbakir. EPA -
Severe damage to a mosque in Malatya, Turkey. AP -
Several buildings collapsed, trapping many people underneath the rubble. AP -
Hospitals in north-eastern Syria were full of injured people. AFP -
An injured man waits for treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital in Syria's Idlib province. AFP -
A car is buried underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Azmarin, a town in Syria's Idlib province. AP -
Rescuers search for victims as an ambulance waits. AFP -
An injured child awaits treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital. AFP -
Rescuers search through the rubble for survivors. EPA -
The US Geological Survey said the quake began at 4.17am local time. EPA -
People at the site of a collapsed building. EPA -
The earthquake in Turkey caused widespread destruction. AP -
People gather around a collapsed building in Pazarcik, in Turkey's Kahramanmaras province. AP -
At least 130 buildings collapsed in the Turkish city of Malatya. Reuters -
Rescuers search for victims in Diyarbakir. AFP -
Rescuers carry a victim at the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. AFP -
Rescuers search for survivors in Hama. AFP -
Rescuers carry a victim pulled out from under the rubble of an eight-storey building. AFP -
Damaged buildings in Hama. The aftershocks of the quake were felt in Syria and other neighbouring countries. Reuters -
A Syrian Civil Defence representative said the situation in the city was catastrophic. Reuters -
The death toll is expected to rise in Turkey and Syria. Reuters
The UK's Development Minister Andrew Mitchell said arranging aid for an “ungoverned space” in wartime Syria was “an additional problem at a desperate time”.
Speaking for the UK government on the morning media round, Mr Mitchell said the first 72 hours after the disaster were the most crucial as Britain co-ordinates with the UN.
“We hope that the UN will be able to negotiate additional crossing places,” he said.
“If you look at the geography, the way in is from Turkey. It's over that border which is very constricted, and that's an additional problem at a desperate time for people who've already suffered so much in northern Syria.”
Syria's UN envoy Bassam Sabbagh said the Assad government, which opposes cross-border aid, was ready to provide assistance to “all Syrians in all territory of Syria”.
“If anyone would like to help Syria, they can co-ordinate with the government and we will be ready to do so,” he said.
But concerns have been expressed about relying on the Syrian regime for aid, with Amnesty International saying help should be delivered regardless of the government's consent.
“With humanitarian help in an armed conflict it is especially important to bear in mind the risk of international aid being misused, and not to strengthen the Assad regime,” said German MP Lamya Kaddor.
Even before the tragedy, dilapidated buildings in Syria often collapsed.
The UN's refugee agency said some people affected by the earthquake were living in flimsy shelters, tents and partially destroyed buildings.
“After 12 years of civil war, large parts of infrastructure were destroyed in any case and there is no secure healthcare provision available,” said German charity Action Against Hunger.
A British charity called UK-Med is sending a team of six people on Tuesday, including surgeons, paramedics, medical and logistics staff to assess needs on the ground.
“Decisions on when to fully mobilise the charity’s resources have to be made in co-ordination with the Turkish authorities and WHO, chief executive David Wightwick told the BBC.
“The issue is do we then fully mobilise them, get them and all the equipment on the plane and get it where it’s most needed? It’s that decision, where it’s most needed, that takes up the first day or so.”
