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VAN, Turkey, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern Turkish province of Van killed more than 430 people, officials said Tuesday. In addition, officials said Sunday's earthquake injured at least 1,300 and toppled 2,262 buildings.
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A stream of humanitarian aid ranging from blankets, baby formula, medicine, clothing, boots, personal care items, tents, food and drinking water has been flowing into the affected areas as well, Today's Zaman reported.
More than 1,000 medical personnel, 256 excavators and dozens of ambulances and medical helicopters were dispatched to the area, officials said. The Turkish Red Crescent sent 18,000 units of blood. The business community offered private jets to fly supplies to Van.
Nilufer Narli, a sociology professor at Bahcesehir University, told Today's Zaman the disaster brought out a positive aspect about society.
"The mobilization of people without making any ethnic distinctions is a very positive reflex," Narli said. "It is impossible to talk about growing anti-Kurdish sentiment in society despite the polarization and outrage created by separatist violence and the news of killed soldiers."
Rescuers Tuesday in Ercis celebrated when a 2-week-old baby and her mother were rescued from the rubble of a multistory building, CNN reported.
Video showed rescuers working in Ercis carrying infant Azra Karaduman to a vehicle that took her to a hospital. Rescuers then extracted the girl's mother from the rubble of a multistory building.
The baby's paternal grandmother also was removed and carried to a vehicle on a stretcher, but CNN said it was unclear whether the woman was alive. The baby's father remained trapped under the building's debris, officials said.
"Naturally, rescue efforts are proceeding slowly but we are still successfully finding survivors under buildings, and we will continue with our efforts in the coming days," Ozgur Monkul, operations officer for the international AKUT Search and Rescue Association, told Haaretz.
Turkey's disaster management authority said the death toll was 366, with 1,300 others injured. However, local officials said they feared the death toll would rise.
The Hurriyet Daily News reported minor skirmishes in Istiklal village, Van province, when local residents marched to the Turkish Search and Rescue Association to demand more supplies. Hospitals were at full capacity, and roads in the Van area were jammed, the newspaper said.
"This is one of the strongest earthquakes registered in Turkey in recent years," Bulent Arinc, Turkey's deputy prime minister, told a news conference. "Our relief efforts include everything that would apply in an officially declared disaster region."
At least 213 aftershocks were reported across Turkey, including one registering 5.4-magnitude Tuesday, the Turkish Seismic Institute said.
Thousands of people whose homes were destroyed or were considered too unstable were forced to sleep outdoors in overnight temperatures in the upper 20s and with a forecast of snow for midweek, The New York Times reported.
The crisis center in Ankara said the government set aside about $1.7 million in disaster aid, and donations of money and supplies were arriving from civilian groups and private donors throughout Turkey, the Times said.
More than 50 nations have offered aid, including Israel, whose relations with Turkey have been rocky since an Israeli commando raid on a ship trying to run a blockade of Gaza resulted in several Turkish deaths last year.
