ERCIS, Turkey — The Turkish prime minister Wednesday blamed shoddy construction for the high casualty toll from a devastating earthquake, as rescue workers pulled more survivors from ruined buildings three days after the temblor hit the eastern part of the nation.
In the capital, Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had not learned enough from past earthquakes that toppled poorly constructed buildings, trapping people inside. The 7.2-magnitude quake on Sunday killed at least 460 people.
“When we look at the wreckage, we see how the material used is of bad quality,” Mr. Erdogan said.
“We see that people pay the price for concrete that virtually turned to sand, or for weakened concrete blocks on the ground floors. Municipalities, constructors and supervisors should now see that their negligence amounts to murder.”
He said: “Despite all previous disasters, we see that the appeals were not heeded.”
Rescue workers saved a teacher and a university student from ruined buildings, but searchers said hopes of finding anyone else alive are diminishing. Excavators began clearing debris from some collapsed buildings in Ercis after searchers removed bodies and determined no one else was alive.
Desperate survivors fought over aid and blocked aid shipments while a powerful aftershock on Tuesday ignited widespread panic that triggered a prison riot in a nearby provincial city. Health officials warned of increase in cases of diarrhea, especially among children.
“At the moment, we don’t have any other sign of life,” said rescuer Riza Birkan. “We are concentrating on recovering bodies.”
Gozde Bahar, a 27-year-old English-language teacher was pulled out of a ruined building on Wednesday with injuries nearly three days after the 7.2- magnitude quake. Her mother watched the rescue operation in tears. The state-run Anatolia news agency said her heart stopped at a field hospital but doctors managed to revive her.
Earlier on Wednesday, rescuers also pulled out 18-year old university student Eyup Erdem, using tiny cameras mounted on sticks to locate him. They broke into applause as he emerged from the wreckage.
The two, both rescued in Ercis, the worst hit area in the temblor that also rattled Iran and Armenia, were the last to be saved.
Health Ministry official Seraceddin Com said some 40 people were pulled out alive from collapsed buildings on Tuesday.
They included a 2-week-old baby girl brought out half-naked but alive from the wreckage of an apartment building two days after the quake. Her mother and grandmother were also rescued, but her father was missing.
With thousands left homeless or too afraid to return to damaged houses, Turkey said it would accept international aid offers, even from Israel, with which it has had strained relations.
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