Seven more people rescued in Turkey eight days after earthquake

Seven more people have been rescued eight days after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, but hopes of finding further survivors of what the World Health Organization called the worst natural disaster in 100 years in its 53-country Europe region are dwindling.

Across swaths of southern Turkey, whole cities have become ghost towns after most of their residents fled.

In Antakya, entire streets of ancient stone homes and mosques, churches and a synagogue have been reduced to piles of rubble and the few local people still in the city said they had only stayed to protect what remained of their homes from looting.

Cats and pigeons roamed among the ruins searching for food, and soldiers with automatic weapons patrolled the empty streets.

In Turkey alone, an estimated 1 million people are living in tents and temporary shelters, while at least 80,000 people have been hospitalised. Up to 5 million people may be homeless in Syria, many already internally displaced after fleeing civil war.

The UN said it welcomed a decision by the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, to open two more border crossings with Turkey for at least three months so more aid could reach the north-west, where 12 years of bitter fighting have complicated the international relief effort.

A leading Turkish business association, Türkonfed, estimated that the earthquake could cause losses of $84bn (£69bn) to the Turkish economy.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report