Cold, hunger, despair grip homeless as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 19,000

By Umit Bektas, Mehmet Caliskan and Khalil Ashawi

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• Summary
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• Death toll reaches 16,546 in Turkey, over 3,000 in Syria
• Hundreds of thousands left homeless in middle of winter
• First U.N. aid convoy enters northwest Syria from Turkey
• Two-year-old pulled from rubble in Turkey 79 hours after quake

ANTAKYA, Turkey/JANDARIS, Syria, Feb 9, (Reuters) – Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 19,000 on Thursday.

The rescue of a two-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities.