Turkey-Syria earthquake: Total death toll passes 20,000

The death toll from the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week rose to more than 20,000 on Thursday, as rescuers scrambled for survivors trapped beneath the rubble in freezing winter conditions.

The quake was one of the deadliest across the world in more than a decade, with more than 17,134 confirmed deaths in Turkey and another 3,162 in Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the city of Gaziantep, where 944 of over 6,400 buildings were destroyed.

The Turkish government admitted on Wednesday that the country's disaster response could have been better.

Access to Twitter in the country — throttled following a flurry of online criticism of authorities — was restored early on Thursday after talks between the company and Turkish officials.

Meanwhile, the first UN convoy carrying aid to Syrians crossed over the border from Turkey.