More than 1,600 people have died and rescuers are racing to pull survivors from beneath the rubble after a devastating earthquake ripped through Turkey and Syria, leaving destruction and debris on each side of the border.
One of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in a century shook residents from their beds around 4 a.m. on Monday, sending tremors as far away as Lebanon and Israel.
In Turkey, at least 1,014 people have died and several thousand injured, according to the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).
In neighboring Syria, at least 592 people have died, including 371 mostly in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, according to Syrian state news agency SANA, which also reported 1,089 injuries.
The “White Helmets” group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defence, also reported at least 221 deaths and 419 injuries in opposition-controlled areas of northwestern Syria.
Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by anti-government forces amid a bloody civil war that began in 2011.
The epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude quake was 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Around nine hours later, a major aftershock that measured 7.5 in magnitude struck in Turkey, according to the USGS. That shock hit around 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the original quake.
Video from the scene in Turkey showed day breaking over rows of collapsed buildings, some with apartments exposed to the elements as people huddled in the freezing cold beside them, waiting for help.
Dozens of countries have pledged to aid in search and rescue operations.
The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) reported that hundreds died in Syrian opposition areas due to a strong earthquake on Monday morning.
The Chairman of SAMS, Bassel Termanini, told dpa that the organisation covered about 50 per cent of the healthcare in the areas.
Termanini said that he got reports that 105 people were killed so far, and more than 600 seriously injured, mainly in areas in the countrysides of Aleppo and Idlib.
He added that the numbers were expected to rise as rescue operations continued and patients recovered from the rubble.
Ibrahim al Haj, a spokesperson for the voluntary White Helmets rescue service in the countryside of Aleppo, told dpa, “We are in a disaster area, some of my family members are still under the rubble.”
The injured are mainly suffering from skull fractures, broken legs and arms, he said.
Ihlas News Agency has reported that an explosion hit a gas pipeline in Türkiye’s southern province of Hatay after two strong earthquakes jolted the country early Monday.
Türkiye’s state-owned energy company, BOTAS, announced that it had suspended natural gas flow to southern Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces.
Vice President Fuat Oktay said that more than 280 people died in Türkiye after two earthquakes struck the country’s southern and southeastern regions.
A magnitude of 7.4 quake struck the Pazarcik District of southern Kahramanmaras Province at 04:17 (0117 GMT).
A magnitude of 6.4 quake followed, which hit southern Gaziantep Province at 04:26 (0126 GMT).
According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the focus of the quake was located at a depth of 7km.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters, “We dispatched all our search and rescue teams to earthquake zones.
We set the highest alert.”
The minister said that the quakes caused casualties in at least 10 provinces.
“We have set up a fourth-level alert. This is an alarm that includes international assistance,” Spyle added.
