As rescue operations continue in Turkey following the deadly earthquakes that struck the region, for many hopes of finding loved ones alive are fading.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — With hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by the world's deadliest earthquake in more than a decade.

The confirmed death toll approached 12,000.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the especially hard-hit Hatay province, where more than 3,300 people died and entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Residents there have criticized the government's response, saying rescuers were slow to arrive.

Erdogan, who faces a tough battle for reelection in May, acknowledged "shortcomings" in the response to Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake but said the winter weather was a factor. The earthquake destroyed the runway in Hatay's airport, further disrupting the response.

"It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster," Erdogan said. "We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for." He also hit back at critics, saying "dishonorable people" were spreading "lies and slander" about the government's response.

People stand by collapsed buildings Wednesday in Golbasi, in southern Turkey.

Turkish authorities said they are targeting disinformation, and an internet monitoring group said access to Twitter was restricted despite it being used by survivors to alert rescuers.

Search teams from more than two dozen countries have joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel in Syria and Turkey. But the scale of destruction from the quake and its powerful aftershocks was so immense and spread over such a wide area — including a region isolated by Syria's ongoing civil war — that many people were still awaiting help.

Experts said the survival window for those trapped under the rubble or otherwise unable to obtain basic necessities was closing rapidly. At the same time, they said it was too soon to abandon hope.

"The first 72 hours are considered to be critical," said Steven Godby, a natural hazards expert at Nottingham Trent University in England. "The survival ratio on average within 24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and by the fifth day it is 6%."

Rescuers search through the rubble of collapsed buildings Wednesday in the town of Armanaz, Idlib province, Syria.

Rescuers at times used excavators or picked gingerly through debris. With thousands of buildings toppled, it was not clear how many people might still be caught in the rubble.

In the Turkish city of Malatya, bodies were placed side by side on the ground and covered in blankets while rescuers waited for vehicles to pick them up, said former journalist Ozel Pikal.

Pikal, who took part in the rescue efforts, said he thinks at least some of the victims froze to death as temperatures dipped to 21 degrees Fahrenheit.

"As of today, there is no hope left in Malatya," Pikal said by telephone. "No one is coming out alive from the rubble."

Road closures and damage in the region made it hard to access all the areas that need help, he said, and there was a shortage of rescuers where he was.

"Our hands cannot pick up anything because of the cold," said Pikal. "Work machines are needed."

Rescuers search through the rubble of collapsed buildings Wednesday in the town of Armanaz, Idlib province, Syria.

The region was already beset by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. Millions have been displaced within Syria itself and millions more have sought refuge in Turkey.

Turkey's president said the country's death toll passed 9,000. The Syrian Health Ministry said the death toll in government-held areas climbed past 1,200. At least 1,600 people have died in the rebel-held northwest, according to the volunteer first responders known as the White Helmets.

That brought the overall total to almost 12,000. Tens of thousands more are injured.

David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning and management at University College London, said data from past earthquakes suggested the likelihood of survival was now slim, particularly for individuals who suffered serious injuries.

"Statistically, today is the day when we're going to stop finding people," he said. "That doesn't mean we should stop searching."

Rescuers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings Wednesday in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria.

Alexander cautioned that the final death toll may not be known for weeks because of the sheer amount of rubble.

The last time an earthquake killed so many people was 2015, when 8,800 died in a magnitude 7.8 quake in Nepal. A 2011 earthquake in Japan triggered a tsunami, killing almost 20,000 people.

In Syria, a baby born during Monday's earthquake miraculously survived after being pulled from the rubble. It was a moment of hope in the battered country where the ongoing civil war is making relief efforts difficult.

Many of those who survived the earthquake lost their homes and were forced to sleep in cars, government shelters or outdoors amid rain and snowfall in some areas.

"We don't have a tent, we don't have a heating stove, we don't have anything. Our children are in bad shape," Aysan Kurt, 27, said. "We did not die from hunger or the earthquake, but we will die freezing from the cold."

In Syria, aid efforts have been hampered by the ongoing war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border, which is surrounded by Russia-backed government forces. Syria itself is an international pariah under Western sanctions linked to the war.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

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