UN appeals $1b for quake aid as death toll passes 41,000

The death toll from the earthquake that has devastated parts of Turkey and Syria exceeded 41,000 on Friday as the United Nations appealed for $1 billion to address a growing humanitarian crisis.

Eleven days after the quake -- now one of the 10 deadliest in the past 100 years -- Turkish rescuers pulled a 17-year-old girl and a woman in her 20s out of the rubble.

“She looked to be in good health. She opened and closed her eyes,” coal miner Ali Akdogan said after participating in the rescue of Aleyna Olmez in Kahramanmaras, a city near the quake’s epicentre.

But hopes of finding survivors have largely faded.

Many in the affected zones are facing a dire emergency as they try to pick up the pieces in freezing conditions, without food, water and toilets -- raising the spectre of further disaster from diseases.

“The needs are enormous, people are suffering and there’s no time to lose,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement, calling for funds to help the victims.

He said the contributions would provide humanitarian relief for three months to 5.2 million people.

The money would “allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up vital support,” including in the areas of food security, protection, education, water and shelter, he added.