More than 21,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured as efforts continue for a fourth day in freezing conditions to save those still trapped under rubble.<br /><br />Officials and medics said Thursday that 17,674 people had died in Turkey and 3,377 in Syria, bringing the confirmed total to 21,051.<br /><br />Initial rescue efforts were hampered by a winter storm that covered major roads in ice and snow and left three key airports in the area inoperable, complicating deliveries of vital aid.<br /><br />Survivors are still being pulled from collapsed buildings, though disaster experts warn that the chances of saving lives drop sharply after 72 hours.
