Damaged buildings and rescue operations in Aleppo, in the aftermath of Monday's earthquake. [Source: NBC News]
Across the street from an Aleppo apartment building which was reduced to rubble by the quake, 25-year-old Youssef has waited for two days for news of his father, mother, brother, sister and her son.
He said he had heard their voices and spoken to them, but emergency workers had not been able to reach them.
“I talked to them and heard their voice, but unfortunately – as you can see here – they’re very slow at work and they don’t have enough equipment,” he told Reuters news agency.
And in nearby Jandaris, relatives of people who had been living in a now collapsed apartment block said they had seen no one taken out alive so far.
They blame a lack of machinery to lift the heavy concrete slabs which may have trapped loved ones.
Rescue workers have struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads and poor weather. Some areas are also without fuel and electricity.
