GAZIANTEP, Turkey -- The president of Turkey on Wednesday acknowledged shortcomings in his country's response to the world's deadliest earthquake in more than a decade as hope dwindled that more survivors would emerge from the rubble of thousands of toppled buildings.
With the confirmed death toll approaching 12,000, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the especially hard-hit Hatay province, where more than 3,300 people died and entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Residents there have criticized the government's efforts, saying rescuers were slow to arrive.
In Kahramanmaras, where Erdogan also visited, three bodies were recovered from a six-story building, and there were at least six more victims in the rubble. "The volunteers were here, but not the state," said a relative of two of the victims.
Erdogan, who faces a tough battle for reelection in May, reacted to the mounting frustration by acknowledging problems with the emergency response to Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake but said the winter weather had been a factor. The earthquake also destroyed the runway at Hatay's airport, further disrupting the response.
Erdogan told his people how much his government had already done to help, while urging that citizens "show patience" as more aid made its way to them. But the leader of the country's largest opposition party rejected a call for unity, saying that Erdogan was "fully responsible." Criticism of the government's disaster response would only add to headwinds for Erdogan's quest for reelection.
"It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster," Erdogan said. "We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for." He also hit back at critics, saying "dishonorable people" were spreading "lies and slander" about the government's actions.
Turkish authorities said they were targeting disinformation, and an internet monitoring group said access to Twitter was restricted despite it being used by survivors to alert rescuers.
Meanwhile, rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched for signs of life in the rubble. Teams from more than two dozen countries have joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel in the effort. But the scale of destruction from the quake and its powerful aftershocks was so immense and spread over such a wide area that many people were still awaiting help.
Experts said the survival window for those trapped under the rubble or otherwise unable to obtain basic necessities was closing rapidly. At the same time, they said it was too soon to abandon hope.
"The first 72 hours are considered to be critical," said Steven Godby, a natural hazards expert at Nottingham Trent University in England. "The survival ratio on average within 24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and by the fifth day it is 6%."
Rescuers at times used excavators or picked gingerly through debris. It was not clear how many people might still be trapped.
In the Turkish city of Malatya, bodies were placed side by side on the ground and covered in blankets while rescuers waited for vehicles to pick them up, according to former journalist Ozel Pikal, who said he saw eight bodies pulled from the ruins of a building.
Pikal, who took part in the rescue efforts, said he thinks at least some of the victims froze to death as temperatures dipped to 21 Fahrenheit.
"As of today, there is no hope left in Malatya," Pikal said by telephone. "No one is coming out alive from the rubble."
Road closures and damage in the region made it hard to access all the areas that need help, he said, and there was a shortage of rescuers where he was.
"Our hands cannot pick up anything because of the cold," Pikal said. "Work machines are needed."
The region was already beset by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. Millions have been displaced within Syria itself, and millions more have sought refuge in Turkey.
Erdogan said Turkey's death toll passed 9,000.
Syria's more than decade-long civil war has been complicating efforts to get aid to the country. Many refugees displaced by the fighting live in the quake-stricken area of Turkey, and while aid was not crossing into Syria, bodies were.
Rescue missions will focus on some of the hardest-hit provinces in Turkey: Hatay, Adiyaman and Kahramanmaras. In Syria, where more than a decade of civil war had already created a humanitarian crisis, at least 2,992 people died in the quake, according to the state Health Ministry and the White Helmets relief group.
That brought the overall total to nearly 12,000. Tens of thousands more are injured.
Stories of rescues continued to provide hope that some people still trapped might be found alive. A crying newborn still connected by the umbilical cord to her deceased mother was rescued Monday in Syria. In Turkey's Kahramanmaras, rescuers pulled a 3-year-old boy from the rubble, and rescuers sent by the Israeli military saved a 2-year-old boy.
But David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning and management at University College London, said data from past earthquakes suggested the likelihood of survival was now slim, particularly for seriously injured individuals.
"Statistically, today is the day when we're going to stop finding people," he said. "That doesn't mean we should stop searching."
Alexander cautioned that the final death toll may not be known for weeks because of the sheer amount of rubble.
The earthquake's toll has already outstripped that of a 7.8-magnitude quake in Nepal in 2015, when 8,800 died. A 2011 earthquake in Japan triggered a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people.
Many of those who survived this week's quake lost their homes and were forced to sleep in cars, government shelters or outdoors amid rain and snowfall in some areas.
"We don't have a tent, we don't have a heating stove, we don't have anything. Our children are in bad shape," Aysan Kurt, 27, said. "We did not die from hunger or the earthquake, but we will die freezing from the cold."
Some families began mourning their dead. In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, relatives who rushed to Kahramanmaras to rescue 21-year-old Mustafa Sonmez instead buried him Wednesday.
"May God have mercy on those who died. I wish patience for those who remain alive," said relative Mustafa Caymaz.
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for Erdogan, who faces an economic downturn and high inflation. Perceptions that his government mismanaged the crisis could hurt his standing. He said the government would distribute $532 to affected families.
Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu blamed the devastation on Erdogan's two-decade rule, saying he had not prepared the country for a disaster and accusing him of misspending funds.
In their effort to crack down on disinformation related to the earthquake response, police said they had detained 18 people and identified more than 200 social media accounts suspected of "spreading fear and panic."
Global internet monitor NetBlocks said multiple internet providers restricted access to Twitter in Turkey. Some trapped survivors have used Twitter to alert rescuers and loved ones, while others have used it to criticize the government's response.
Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said a government official held a video conference with a Twitter official to remind him of the company's responsibilities on disinformation and obligations under a strict new social media law.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company was "reaching out to understand more," and later that it had been informed by Turkey's government that access would be restored soon.
Musk did not offer an explanation for why Turkey had restricted access in the first place.
The government has periodically restricted access to social media during national emergencies and terror attacks, citing national security.
In Syria, aid efforts have been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border, which is surrounded by Russia-backed government forces. Syria itself is an international pariah under Western sanctions linked to the war.
Ahmad Idris, a Syrian now living in Saraqib after being displaced by the war, cried in agony as he looked at the bodies of 25 family members.
"We came here on the basis of finding a safe shelter for us and our children," he said. "But in the end, look how fate has caught up to us here."
Information for this article was contributed by Mehmet Guzel, Ghaith Alsayed, Suzan Fraser, Zeynep Bliginsoy, David Rising, Danica Kirka, Frank Jordans, Robert Badendieck, Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press and by Ben Hubbard and Safak Timur of The New York Times.
Rescuers search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Armanaz, Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A family get warm with a fire in front of their destroyed home as rescue teams search for people in Elbistan, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Collapsed buildings in Golbasi, in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday to more than 10,000, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Collapsed buildings in Golbasi, in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday to more than 10,000, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A rescue worker being taking out after had a fraction on his leg, in Ghaziantep, southeastern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
A damaged road in Golbasi, in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday to more than 10,000, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a survivor hug each other as he visits the city center destroyed by Monday earthquake in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade. (Turkish Presidency via AP )
Rescuers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Collapsed buildings in Golbasi, in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday to more than 10,000, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Rescuers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings Wednesday in the town of Harem in Syria’s Idlib province. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks with a survivor Wednesday in Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey. Erdogan vowed not to “leave any of our citizens uncared for” and accused “dishonorable people” of spreading “lies and slander” about the government’s response to the disaster. (AP/Turkish Presidency)Gallery: Aftermath of earthquake in Turkey, Syria
