THINLY-STRETCHED rescue teams yesterday continued their search for survivors buried in the rubble of thousands of buildings destroyed in Turkey and Syria by catastrophic earthquakes and aftershocks that had claimed more than 12,000 lives.

Amid calls for the Turkish government to send more help to the disaster zone, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited a “tent city” in Kahramanmaras, where people forced from their homes are living.

He conceded shortfalls early in Turkey’s disaster response but vowed that no one would “be left in the streets.”

Turkey now has tens of thousands of aid personnel in the quake zone, and search teams from more than two dozen countries have joined them. But with the devastation so widespread, many are still waiting for help, and hope of rescuing survivors is fading.

Experts said the survival window for those trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings or otherwise unable to access water, food, protection from the elements or medical attention was closing rapidly. At the same time, they said it was too soon to abandon hope for more rescues.

“The first 72 hours are considered to be critical as the condition of people trapped and injured can deteriorate quickly and become fatal if they are not rescued and given medical attention in time,” Steven Godby, a natural hazards expert at Nottingham Trent University in England.