An official at the crisis desk said a mistake had been made in counting the dead in the province of Kocaeli, which includes the towns of Izmit and Golcuk, the worst hit in the quake. The centre now puts the number of people injured in the quake at 27,176. They had previously estimated the number of injured at more than 42,000. Turkish authorities still say that 30,000 bodies may be under the rubble. There is little hope of finding them alive, and search and rescue teams from around the world are leaving the disaster scene.
All estimates point to a still higher death toll as more bodies are found in the days to come.
Turkey has requested 45,000 body-bags from the United Nations for the remains of the people who died during the earthquake. As of Monday, several national and international search and rescue teams were still in place - in Golcuk, Yalova, Izmit and Degrimendere. Heavy rains started Monday in the disaster area, clogging already damaged sewers and making life even more miserable for survivors. As winter is approaching and temperatures are expected to drop in October, there is rising concern for the timely provision of longer term shelter and restoration of communications and public uilities. Turkish building damaged by the August 17 earthquake.