By Biodun Busari

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria jumped to more than 33,000 on Sunday, as the United Nations warned that the final number may double.

According to Guardian UK, officials and medics said 29,605 people had died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria bringing the confirmed total to 33,179.

The UN’s emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said “we have failed the people in north-west Syria” and they “rightly feel abandoned”.

His Twitter post continued that the people of Syria were: “Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived. My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That’s my focus now.”

Vanguard reported earlier that Turkish authorities have issued more than 100 arrest warrants over collapsed buildings.

State media reported that at least 12 people were in custody, including contractors, architects and engineers connected to some of the tens of thousands of buildings destroyed or seriously damaged in Monday’s 7.8- and 7.6-magnitude quakes.