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Rescuers continue to find survivors, the latest being two men in Hatay province after 261 hours in the rubble

Shortage of doctors in Syria in earthquake-hit areas

Photo: EPA/BGNES

In Syria, survivors of the devastating earthquake live in fear, sleeping outside in sub-zero temperatures without safe drinking water. In an interview for BNT, Dr. Mohamed Alibrahim - a doctor from the Center for Emergency Medical Assistance in Sofia, says from Aleppo how cholera is spreading along with the hunger, fear and insecurity that have torn the country apart for 12 years now. According to him, the Syrian people have mobilized in these dire conditions to provide foodstuffs and blankets to the victims, but there is a shortage of doctors, nurses and paramedics. 

On February 16, a Bulgarian military transport plane "Spartan", loaded with nearly 4.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid on board, landed at the airport in Beirut, Lebanon, from where the aid was transported by land to Syria. From Lebanon, the plane headed to Turkey and picked up the medical teams from the Bulgarian Military Medical Academy, which for ten days provided assistance to those injured in the earthquake in Turkey. 

After 11 days of tireless work among the debris, the Bulgarian firefighters who participated in a rescue mission in Turkey have also returned to Bulgaria. Nearly 80 Bulgarian rescuers from the main directorate "Fire Safety and Protection of the Population" were involved there.

Meanwhile, a new earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale rocked the Turkish province of Hatay, in the southeastern part of the country, last night, Al Jazeera reported. The source was located in the sea at a depth of nine kilometers, five kilometers from the coast. According to information from the Turkish government's Emergency Management Agency, on February 6, Turkey was rocked by several devastating earthquakes, followed by 1,891 aftershocks. 

According to the head of the WHO European office, Hans Kluge, the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are some of the worst natural disasters to hit the region in a century. 

According to the latest data, the victims are more than 42,000 people. 

Rescuers continue to find survivors in the rubble, the latest being two men in Hatay province who spent 261 hours under the rubble.



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