More than 2,300 killed across Turkiye and Syria in devastating earthquake

A devastating earthquake of 7.8-magnitude hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria early on Monday, in which more than 2,300 people were killed, as reported by AP.

With hundreds of people badly injured, the toll continues to rise as survivors continue to be searched among the rubble by the rescue workers.

According toTurkiye PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoganaround912people lost their lives in 10 Turkish provinces, stated the news agency. The agency added that 5,400people suffered injuries. Meanwhile, in Syria, the death toll increased to 592 with more than 1,000 injured, stated the Syrian state media.

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Vice President Fuat Otkay said that around 900 buildings collapsed in the Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras provinces of Turkiye.

He added that a hospital also turned into rubbles in the Mediterranean coastal city of Iskanderoun, however, no casualties were known so far.

“Unfortunately, at the same time, we are also struggling with extremely severe weather conditions,” Oktay added. He further stated that they have deployed around 2,800 search and rescue teams in the disaster-stricken areas.

As per reports, the region was struck by the earthquake at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) and a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), stated the US agency said. The earthquake was also felt by people in Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus, as residents rushed to the snowy streets.

As per a Reuters witness, the tremor lasted for a minute and even shattered the windows. After 15 minutes, the region suffered a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk ran images of people standing around the wrecked building in Kahramanmaras, looking out for survivors.

The survivors are being frantically searched by residents and rescue workers in the rubbles of destroyed buildings in various cities on the two sides of the border.

In one of the cities hit by earthquake in Turkiye, chunks of twisted metal and concrete were pulled away by dozens. People were seen shouting to each other on streets as they leaned dangerously from inside the partially toppled apartment building.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Turkiye have placed the quake's magnitude at 7.4 near Kahramanmaras.

According to Syrian state media, many buildings also fell in the province of Aleppo, while the Hama civil service reported the collapse of several buildings.

"Paintings fell off the walls in the house. I woke up terrified. Now we’re all dressed and standing at the door,” said Samer, a resident of Syria's capital Damascus.

The witnesses reported that people were seen running on foot in the streets of Damascus as well as the Lebanese cities of Tripoli and Beirut.

Turkish Red Cross stated that resources are being mobilised for the region and people have been appealed to evacuate damaged houses.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted, “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake. "We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," he added.

At least six aftershocks were felt by people as Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu appealed them to avoid entering the damaged buildings because of the risks.

“Our priority is to bring out people trapped under ruined buildings and to transfer them to hospitals,” he stated.

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In Malatya province of Turkiye, at least 130 buildings collapsed, Governor Hulusi Sahin said. Around 15 buildings turned into debris in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir.

Rescue teams appealed to people for extreme silence to listen to calls of survivors trapped beneath the rubble of 11-story building.

The Opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence said called the situation in north-west Syria as “disastrous” adding that many people are trapped under the collapsed buildings' rubble.

Syrian American Medical Society's President Amjad Rass said that emergency rooms are flooded with injured people.

(With inputs from agencies)

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