Turkey Earhquake Appeal

IN THREE days readers have raised well over pounds 65,000 for the appeal by The Independent and The Independent on Sunday to help the victims of Tuesday's earthquake in Turkey. The appeal, run in conjunction with the British Red Cross, has had more than 5,500 responses, averaging one a minute.

The money is being spent on emergency medical help for the injured and homeless in the north-west of the country. The latest estimate is that 34,000 people are missing, and it is feared that the death rate may reach 40,000.

Yesterday two planes from Britain carrying tents, blankets and essential medicines arrived in Istanbul. Two teams of search and rescue experts with sniffer dogs have also been sent. Britain is giving pounds 180,000 to the United Nations children's agency, Unicef, in addition to earlier contributions of pounds 530,000 to Turkey's Red Crescent and the United Nations.