Turkey leader admits 'shortcomings' as quake toll hits 11,700

Turkish President Recep Tayyip

Erdogan on Wednesday conceded "shortcomings" after criticism of his
government's response to the massive earthquake that killed over 11,700 people
in Turkey and Syria.

The sprawling scale of the disaster that flattened thousands of buildings,
trapping an unknown number of people, has swamped relief operations already
hampered by freezing weather.

Survivors have been left to scramble for food and shelter -- and in some
cases watch helplessly as their relatives called for rescue, and eventually
went silent under the debris.

"My nephew, my sister-in-law and my sister-in-law's sister are in the
ruins. They are trapped under the ruins and there is no sign of life," said
Semire Coban, a kindergarten teacher, in Turkey's Hatay.

"We can't reach them. We are trying to talk to them, but they are not
responding... We are waiting for help. It has been 48 hours now," she said.

Still, searchers kept pulling survivors from the debris three days after
the 7.8 magnitude quake that is already one of the deadliest this century, even
as the death toll continues to rise.