Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in Turkey earthquake, on Tuesday. AFP

Gulf Today Report

The earthquake, which struck Turkey and Syria, claimed thousands of lives and caused unimaginable damage.

The AFP cameraman captured a poignant picture of a Turkish father, Mesut Hancer, refusing to leave his dead daughter's hand under the rubble.

The bereaved father appeared in a state of great grief, waiting for the rescue teams to retrieve his daughter's body from under the rubble.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said, on Tuesday, that the number of people affected by the earthquake may amount to reach 23 million.

An official of the organisation, Adelheid Marchang, explained to the executive committee of the United Nations agency that the map of events showed that the number of those likely to have been affected by the earthquake is 23 million, including about 5 million in a serious condition.

"WHO recognizes Turkey's strong response capacity and that Syria may suffer the main unmet needs in the short and medium term," Marchang added.

It is noteworthy that the earthquake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, killed more than 5,000 people in Turkey and Syria, injuring and displacing thousands in light of the severe cold, but the numbers are still preliminary.