Anonymous Pakistani Donates $30 Million To Turkey Earthquake Victims As Death Toll Hits 33,000

A Pakistani living in the U.S. donated a stunning $30 million to help the victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last week, as the death toll climbs to over 33,000.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on his Twitter account Saturday that an anonymous donor went to the Turkish embassy in the U.S. to turn over the donation.

"Deeply moved by the example of an anonymous Pakistani who walked into Turkish embassy in the US & donated $30 million for earthquake victims in Turkey & Syria," Sharif said.

"These are such glorious acts of philanthropy that enable humanity to triumph over the seemingly insurmountable odds," the prime minister added.

Sharif has formed a special Cabinet committee in his country to oversee the collection of donations for the earthquake victims.

Pakistan recently sent two more relief teams to Turkey, while its Air Force airlifted 16.5 tons of humanitarian assistance donated by Pakistani people, Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency reported.

The pouring of donations for the earthquake victims came as more deaths were reported a week after the disaster took place.

According to the New York Post, at least 29,605 have been killed in Turkey, while Syria reported a death toll of 3,553 thus far.

Rescue efforts for the possible survivors are still ongoing, as rescuers keep their hopes alive after a 7-month-old baby was successfully pulled from the rubble.

Video footage from the Turkish health ministry showed that a baby girl was found alive in the southern Turkish town of Hatay Sunday, 139 hours after the earthquake, The Guardian reported.

A 10-year-old girl also survived the ordeal after rescuers pulled her through a hole in the floor of a damaged building. She had been buried for 147 hours.

But experts expressed their worry as the possibility of finding survivors begins to thin day after day. According to them, the survival rate of people trapped after an earthquake is 74% within 24 hours but falls to 22% after 72 hours and just 6% after 60 hours.

Also adding to the frustration of rescuers are the threats to their security.

German-led rescue operations in Turkey were suspended Saturday due to security concerns, CNN reported.

United Hatzalah, an Israeli search-and-rescue group, stopped its rescue operations in Turkey after receiving "concrete intelligence" that there is a security threat to the Israeli delegation.

In Syria, politics and Western sanctions became stumbling blocks for humanitarian assistance to come to the earthquake-hit country.

The first U.N. convoy bringing aid to Syria took three days to cross through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, which is the only humanitarian corridor between Turkey and Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also criticized the Western countries for their lack of humanitarian assistance to his country, saying that they "have no regard for the human condition."