Over 28,000 earthquake victims, the UN appears with the frightening warning: The number will double

United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths said that he expects the number of victims to double. He made these comments during Saturday, after arriving in Turkey to see closely the damage caused by earthquakes.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are continuing to find survivors despite the low temperatures that have plagued the plight of millions who now need help.

Due to security reasons, several aid operations have been suspended and dozens of people have been arrested due to looting or attempting to deceive victims after earthquakes in Turkey, state media reported.

But in all this distress, people are still being rescued from the ruins.

“Is there a world here?”, asked 70-year-old Menexe Tabak when she was pulled out of the ruins in the southern town of Kahramanmararash ♫ the center of the 7.8-magne earthquake that hit the country on Monday.

A seven - month - old baby named Hamza was also saved in Hatay after more than 140 hours after earthquakes, while Esma Sultan, 13, was also saved in Gaziantep, state media reported.

Family members are in a race against time to find the lifeless bodies of their loved ones.

“We have heard [authorities] that they will no longer bear troops after a certain period, they have said they will bury”, said Tuba Yolcu from Kahramanmara.

Twenty - Six million people affected

Griffiths from the UN, during the visit to Kahramanmash, said he expects the number of victims to double, or even more,”.

“Very soon, the search-saving teams will clear the way for humanitarian agencies whose task in the coming months is to take care of such a large number of people affected”, he said through a video posted on Twitter.

The UN has warned that at least 880,000 people are in urgent need of warm bars throughout Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people can remain homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by earthquakes, the World Health Organization said. She filed a new appeal Saturday for $42.8m to face immediate health needs.

O The BSH warned that dozens of hospitals have been damaged.

The Turkish disaster agency said over 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-for rescue efforts. Also, there are 8,294 international rescuers in this country.

Restaurants are working in the town of Gaziantep along with thousands of volunteers to help feed the residents.

Our colleague is in bad shape. Their family are victims, and their homes have been destroyed”, said Burhan Cagdas, owner of a restaurant that is offering up to 4,000 free meals a day since the tragedy.

His family is sleeping in cars since Monday in the city where at least 2,000 people have died, and tens of thousands of others have been forced to sleep outside because their homes are not safe.

It was reportedly crashed, and the UN Human Rights Office on Friday called on all parties in the affected areas where Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels operate to allow access to humanitarian aid.

Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers have suspended their operations for several hours Saturday in Hatay, calling for security reasons, due to shootings among local groups.

The illegal Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist group by Ankara and Western allies, has announced a temporary break in fighting in order to continue search-saving operations.

The border crossing between Armenia and Turkey opened Saturday 35 years later, so that trucks with food and water can go to earthquake-affected areas.

Medical Help for Alepon

Sending aid to Syria has been slow. This state has a ruined health system because of the long civil war, and parts of the state still remain under rebel control.

WHO chief Adhanom Ghebraesus on Saturday sent a plane with aid and medical equipment to earthquake-affected Alepon.

Tedros looked closely at the affected areas of the city and met with two children who lost their parents to earthquakes.

“There is no word to express the pain they are going through”, he wrote on Twitter.

Damascus said it has approved sending humanitarian aid to areas affected by earthquakes that are out of control, respectively, in the province of Idlib. Relief needs were expected to reach Sunday, but authorities later, without explanation, discontinued the operation.

The Transport Ministry said 57 aid planes have landed in Syria this week.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the Security Council to authorize the opening of a new border crossing between Turkey and Syria so that aid can be sent. The Security Council will meet next week to discuss the situation in Syria.

Turkey said it is working to open two new roads that would lead to areas in Syria, which are under rebel control.

Public Anger

Days of grief and anxiety are slowly turning into anger over the weak quality of buildings and the government's response to the worst disaster that has hit Turkey in nearly a century.

Officials have said 12,141 buildings have either been destroyed or severely damaged by earthquakes.

Turkish police on Saturday reportedly have arrested 12 people, including contractors, over the collapse of buildings in the southern provinces of Gaziantep and Sunliurfa.

Officials and health teams said 24,617 people have died in Turkey and 3.574 in Syria. So far, the number of confirmed victims has reached 28.191. / REL