King and queen among those to pledge support following disaster in Turkiye and Syria UK government donates £5m; Scottish government an additional £500k LONDON: An appeal in the UK to raise money for victims of the series of earthquakes that struck Turkiye and Syria this week has received about £33 million ($39.9 million) in less than 24 hours. The appeal, launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee, was broadcast across all major TV channels in the UK, and received significant donations and support from the government, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, and the prince and princess of Wales, who said they were “horrified” by the “harrowing images” from the disaster-stricken zone. The general public contributed a little over £27.9 million during the appeal’s first day, with the UK government committing to a further £5 million, and the Scottish government pledging £500,000. Development Minister Andrew Mitchell called the response from the public to the disaster “extraordinary.” So far at least 21,000 people are known to have died in the disaster, with the toll likely to rise as hopes for survivors still trapped in rubble fade, and tens of thousands of injured and homeless enduring sub-zero temperatures with limited shelter, food, clean water and medical supplies. A military transport plane left the UK for Turkiye on Thursday carrying emergency supplies, and the government also intends to send a field hospital to the area. The DEC appeal will see funds distributed to 14 British charities, including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and ActionAid, operating on the ground. It estimates that as many as 17 million peoples in Turkiye and Syria are in need of aid. The Turkish government has said that 380,000 people are sheltering in official refuges or hotels. DEC CEO Saleh Saaed told the BBC: “The stories we are now hearing from the survivors who have managed to escape the ruins of flattened and crumpled buildings without shoes and coats in the depths of winter are desperately sad.”