Turkey quake death toll nears 41,000 as govt ends quake rescue efforts except in two provinces

A convoy of trucks from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), carrying aid to earthquake victims, drives past tents sheltering survivors, after entering Syria from Turkey via the al-Hamam border crossing in the countryside of Jindayris in northwestern Syria, on Sunday, February 19, 2023. - AFP

ISTANBUL, Feb 19 (dpa/AFP): The total number of people in Turkey killed in the devastating earthquake has reached 40,689, the disaster authority AFAD said on Sunday.

Search and rescue efforts in nine quake-hit provinces have ended, except Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, AFAD Chairman Yunus Sezer told reporters in Ankara.