Death toll could rise eight-fold: WHO

Death toll could rise eight-fold: WHO
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WHO’s Smallwood said numbers will increase quite significantly in the week that follows

The World Health Organization has warned that the death toll from Turkey’s devastating earthquake could increase eight-fold.

"There's continued potential of further collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eight-fold increases on the initial numbers," said Catherine Smallwood, the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe.

At least 3,381 people were killed and 15,834 injured in two major earthquakes that struck Southeastern Turkey on Monday.

The quakes with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 respectively, have also rocked the other side of the border, killing around 1500 people in Northern Syria.

"We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows," Smallwood told AFP.