As the death toll from earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria has climbed to more than 39,000, a Japanese emergency medical team has launched a relief operation.

The Japanese team of 41 doctors, nurses and other personnel started setting up medical service tents on Tuesday at a temporary base in the suburbs of the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

They discussed the allocation of roles with local doctors, among other issues.

A senior member of the team, Oba Jiro, said they intend to make use of their experience and expertise by which Japan has overcome past disasters, while identifying the needs for medical services among those affected.

The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 quake occurred February 6 and ensuing powerful tremors left 35,418 confirmed deaths so far in Turkey, and at least 3,688 in Syria.

Search and rescue efforts still continued on Tuesday, eight days after the disaster.

Reuters reported that two women were pulled from the rubble in the southern province of Hatay more than 200 hours after the quakes.

There are growing calls for medical relief among survivors as more people are suffering health problems in prolonged lives as evacuees.