The already staggering death toll in the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria could reach 50,000, according to the United Nations

Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Coordinatordeclared during a visit this Saturday to the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, one of the most affected by the disaster, that they expected tens of thousands more deathsas bodies continue to be recovered from the rubble.

“I think it’s hard to estimate precisely since we need to be able to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it will double or more”, Griffiths declared to the British medium Sky News.

“It’s frightening. It’s nature fighting back in a really tough way,” the official added.

German catastrophe risk firm Risklayer, for its part, estimated that some 52,000 people died in the quake, though its range for the potential number of deaths goes as high as 105,671.

On his Twitter account, Griffiths said on Saturday that he had spoken with the leader of a Kahramanmaras search and rescue team.

“The idea that these mountains of rubble still hold people, some of them still alive, is profoundly shocking,” he told reporters and on Twitter described the rescues that are still taking place as a miracle. “The courage and commitment of all the first responders on the ground are really admirable,” he said.

This Saturday, the sixth day following the two earthquakes that devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria, there were still rescues of people alive, including children and several members of the same family, among others, what seem like true miracles given the time elapsed and the adverse weather conditions, with snow and freezing temperatures.

According to Griffiths, the first 72 hours following the disaster are usually the “golden period” for rescues, but that interval has passed and survivors are still being removed, although fewer and fewer. “It must be incredibly difficult to decide when to stop this rescue phase,” Griffiths said.

The UN emergency aid coordinator also said he was launching a three-month operation to help pay for operations in Turkey and Syriawhere he hopes aid will reach both government-controlled and opposition-controlled areas.

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In Turkey, only on Monday and early Tuesday morning, some 7,800 people had been rescued from the rubble of the thousands of buildings that collapsed from the two strong earthquakes, according to the official Anadolu agency. In neighboring Syria, search and rescue tasks are further complicated by precarious assistance services in the midst of war. This aerial view shows residents helped by bulldozers searching for victims and survivors among the rubble in the town of Sarmada, in the countryside of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

Credit: Burak Kara/Getty Images

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Some 25,000 people, including soldiers, joined the rescue efforts, according to Orhan Tatar, a senior official with the national emergency agency, Afad, who said $13.3 million in urgent funds have been allocated for the ten most affected provinces. The graphic captures how the coastal city of Iskenderun, in Turkey, was seriously affected.

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The number of deaths has increased steadily since the first balance of victims was given on Monday. Three days following the deadly quakes the death toll had already passed 15,000 as rescue efforts continue to find survivors among the rubble. Aerial view of Harim.

Credit: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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An aerial view shows smoke billowing from collapsed buildings on February 8, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 13 million of the country’s 85 million people were affected and declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. He noted that around 380,000 people have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels.

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VIDEO: Images shared on social networks show how buildings collapsed and desperate people ran to safety in the midst of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the border between Turkey and Syria and was followed by powerful followingshocks.

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Syria’s battered medical centers and hospitals in the area controlled by the opposition to Bashar al-Assad quickly filled with the wounded, according to rescue workers. Others, such as a maternity hospital, had to be evacuated, according to the SAMS medical organization. In this aerial image, residents help rescuers search for people trapped in the rubble.

Credit: MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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This is how this area of ​​the city of Sarmada, in the Syrian province of Idlib, was left following the impact of the strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 whose epicenter was located north of Gaziantep, in Turkey, near the border.

Credit: MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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An aerial view of another Syrian town hit by the powerful quake, Harem. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said 224 buildings in northwestern Syria were destroyed and at least 325 damaged, including humanitarian aid warehouses.

Credit: Ghaith Alsayed/AP

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VIDEO: The authorities are looking for thousands of missing people under the rubble, so it is believed that the number of fatalities will continue to rise.

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An aerial photo of another area of ​​Syria destroyed by the quake. See also: Why the earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border was so devastating

Credit: MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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The violence of the earthquakes and the low standards of construction explain why so many buildings collapsed, like the one in the image, in the city of Azmarin, northern Syria. Residents and rescuers took the bodies of several children wrapped in sheets to a hospital.

Credit: Ghaith Alsayed/AP

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VIDEO: Turkey has asked for international help to speed up the rescues, amid followingshocks, cold and rainfall that complicate the tasks. According to Turkish seismologists, it is one of the largest earthquakes recorded in the country, located in one of the most seismic areas in the world.

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A graph of the destruction in Sarmada, in Syria. See also: 8 keys to understanding the severity and devastating potential of earthquakes

Credit: MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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Another aerial view of an earthquake-hit area in the village of Besnia, Syria, near the border with Turkey. Residents searching for survivors and victims among the rubble.

Credit: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images