As prospects of survival decrease, some rescue missions in Syria and Turkey are suspended.

(cnn) ⸻ The death toll of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on Monday has surpassed 25,000. Germany and Austria have suspended rescue operations in Turkey, while rescue efforts in the rebel-controlled areas in north and northwest Syria have ended. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma visited rescue teams and civilians in affected regions on Saturday, including injured survivors in a hospital in the city of Latakia.As many as 5.3 million people in Syria could have been affected by the quake and be in need of shelter support, according to preliminary data from the UNHCR. However, the country's political set-up complicated rescue efforts, with some of its most impacted areas controlled by the internationally-sidelined, heavily-sanctioned regime, others by Turkish-backed and US-backed opposition forces, Kurdish rebels and Sunni Islamist fighters. The Syrian government approved sending aid into the rebel-held territories Friday, but did not provide a specific timeline. Syrian-American actor Jay Abdo expressed frustration on Saturday, telling CNN: "Earthquakes, they have no borders, so why do borders and politics deprive Syrian civilians in the northwest of the country from their human rights to be rescued?" He called on the international community to "act immediately" as "there's no time" and "civilians are not receiving humanitarian aid." The World Health Organization's director-general arrived in Syria's earthquake-hit Aleppo city on Saturday on a plane carrying more than $290,000 worth of trauma emergency and surgical kits. Belit Tasdemir, UN liaison officer at AKUT Search and Rescue Association, told CNN that "freezing" temperatures and extreme fatigue" were beginning to affect rescue workers as they approach the end of the rescue window. However, some astonishing rescues still provide a glimmer of hope, such as Sezai Karabas and his young daughter being found alive 132 hours after the earthquake struck. The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief stopped its rescue and relief work due to security concerns in the Hatay region. The Austrian Army made a similar decision, citing "increasing aggression between groups in Turkey." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that those looting and committing other crimes would be punished, and university dorms would be used to house victims made homeless. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria as the "worst event in 100 years" and said that a "clear plan" to give "an appeal for a three-month operation" would be set out on either Sunday or Monday.