The latest estimate of the victims of the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey almost a week ago speaks of more than 30,000 dead, said Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay.
In the Antakya district, a seven-month-old baby was recovered alive after spending 140 hours under the rubble.
Italy is at the forefront in sending humanitarian aid to the population, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has ordered the shipment of medical material, ambulances and doctors. The two C-130 military aircraft took off from Pisa, under the supervision of the secretary general of the Farnesina, the Sardinian Ettore Sequi. Today the transfer to Damascus and from there the distribution in the various areas, in particular Lattakia, Aleppo, Hama and Tartous.
This is the first aid sent by a European country to Syria to respond to a tragedy that has struck a population already afflicted by almost 12 years of conflict.
(Unioneonline/ss)