Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Death Toll Now Over 19,300, Survivors Struggle Amid Biting Cold
(Photo : OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
As they struggle for food, water, and warmth, people who survived the earthquake are asking the government to them out of the wrecked area.

Thousands of survivors gathered around campfires and begged for food and water three days after a devastating 7.8 magnitude Turkey-Syria earthquake occurred, killing over 19,300 people.

The Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll now exceeds the 18,400 persons killed in a tsunami after an earthquake off the coast of Japan in 2011, as per a report from ABC News.

Turkish rescuers searching a collapsed hotel for missing school volleyball players have uncovered three remains since Monday's tremors.

In addition to the Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll, bodies of three people, comprising two educators and a student, were found in an elevator at the Isias Hotel in Adiyaman, authorities in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus reported.

Some 39 persons, including both boys' and girls' teams, were reportedly inside the structure when it collapsed during the Turkey-Syria earthquake, BBC reported.

Families of the players are now present at the scene to assist with the ongoing search operations.

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UN Assistance Finally Reaches Earthquake Area

In Antakya, Turkey, scores of people raced for jackets and other goods off a truck.

Some Turkey-Syria earthquake survivors urged the authorities to evacuate residents from the destroyed area. Tents, stadiums, and other temporary housing have provided refuge for tens of thousands of people who have lost their houses, to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

On Thursday, the first United Nations assistance convoy arrived in the area since Monday's Turkey-Syria earthquake. It passed from Turkey into northwest Syria, a region which has been plagued by years of fighting and a severe humanitarian catastrophe, according to CNN.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) said that Thursday's convoy of six trucks providing shelter and NFI passed the Bab Al Hawa border, the sole humanitarian relief route between Turkey and Syria.

Related Article: Turkey-Syria Earthquake Rescue Teams Face Great Challenges