Efforts to find survivors from a powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey have begun winding down as the death toll climbed to at least 36.
The magnitude-6.8 quake shook Turkey's Elazig province late on Friday, causing buildings to collapse.
Some 45 people have been pulled alive from the rubble so far.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the rescue operation was largely concluded, but teams had located six people still trapped under rubble.
"It has been around 36 hours [since the quake], but we are still in the hours where we can hope," he told a news conference on Sunday.
More than 1,600 people were injured in the earthquake, with 104 still in hospital, officials said.
Turkey, which sits atop two major fault lines, has a history of powerful earthquakes. In 1999, about 17,000 people died in a quake in the western city of Izmit.
Friday's quake struck at about 20:55 local time (17:55 GMT), centring on the town of Sivrice in Elazig province.
More than 700 aftershocks have been registered so far, and Mr Soylu warned on Sunday that they were continuing.
Rescue teams worked through the night on Friday and Saturday in freezing temperatures, using their hands, drills and diggers to try to find people in the rubble of fallen buildings. They also brought beds and tents for those displaced.
Turksish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised that steel-framed houses will be built for those who have lost their homes.
"Turkey has begun to heal the wounds of this great disaster in unity, togetherness and coming together," he said.
Among those rescued was a woman who called her relatives from her mobile phone to tell them where she was trapped.
Turkish television also showed a 35-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter being pulled out of the rubble some 28 hours after the quake.
Unanswered cries as survivors wait for help
The sense of loss is spreading more quickly than the search for survivors.
On the Turkish border with Syria, more news came in overnight from Hatay province, one of the worst hit regions.
In the darkness, footage showed a resident searching in the rubble. He believes someone is alive underneath. "Speak out loud," he pleads.
"As you see, there is a dead body here. He is dead and nobody has removed him. And a woman's voice is heard from underneath."
As he speaks a woman's voice cries out from the rubble. She cries again, and then bangs on metal trying to hold the man's attention. But there is nothing he alone can do. An entire home is collapsed and it will take machinery to lift the ruins.
This is a story of unanswered cries, being repeated over and over again across this region.
Credit: The BBC
Latest Stories
-
JoyNews’ Clinton Yeboah honoured at 2023 Int’l Sports Media Awards in Spain
27 mins -
14 PWDs selected for maiden Africa Health Collaborative Medicine Counter Assistant training
1 hour -
Manchester United open to offers for nearly all of squad
1 hour -
Price of LPG per kilogramme constitutes 22% of taxes – LPG Marketers Association
3 hours -
Nigeria appoint Finidi George as new Super Eagles boss
3 hours -
Elevating Ghana’s creative industry: A blueprint for competing with Nigeria and South Africa
5 hours -
Poor finishing a problem for Asante Kotoko throughout the season – Prosper Ogum
5 hours -
Samini teams up with Francis Osei for ‘Sticks N Locks’ EP
5 hours -
Government should resource record labels – Seven Xavier
6 hours -
I need majority in parliament to successfully complete my term – Akufo-Addo pleads
6 hours -
Next NDC government will not recognise illegal contracts signed by current administration – Sammy Gyamfi
6 hours -
Premier League clubs vote in favour of spending cap plans
6 hours -
Nigeria’s fuel crisis brings businesses to a halt
6 hours -
King Promise impresses fans at sold out show in Singapore
6 hours -
Ejisu by-election to proceed after plaintiff withdraws injunction application
6 hours