Earthquake in Turkey and Syria kills thousands, devastating entire neighbourhoods

Aftershocks of 7.8 magnitude quake felt in several neighbouring countries

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  A child being rescued from the rubble in this screengrab obtained from social media, in Bisnia in Syria. Reuters

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  A rescued boy is given water in a bottle cap in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters

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  A woman carries a box of food in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

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  'We were screaming for help until people came to help us and they took us to the hospital', said Hamid from Homs who was injured in a building collapse. Matt Kynaston / The National

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  Palestinians attend a vigil to exress solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria in Khan Yunius in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

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  A collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey after a major earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6. EPA

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  A Syrian man cries as he sits on the rubble of a collapsed building in the rebel-held town of Jindayris. AFP

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  A man carries a girl who was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA

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  Members of the Turkish community in Berlin gather humanitarian aid. EPA

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  A Turkish soldier in front of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA

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  The rubble of buildings in the village of Besnaya in Syria's Idlib province. AFP

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  Russian rescuers search for survivors in the town of Jableh in Syria's Latakia province. AFP

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  A photo taken with a drone shows an aerial view over collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey. EPA

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  Destruction in Hatay city centre. AP

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  Members of the Turkish community in Berlin collect aid to support victims. Reuters

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  An injured man is carried to an ambulance after being rescued from the rubble in Hatay. Reuters

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  A man carries an aid box in Hatay. Getty

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  Bags of wood for fires are distributed in Hatay Turkey. Getty

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  A man trapped in rubble waits while debris is removed in Hatay. AFP

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  Residents look for their relatives in Hatay. AFP

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  Rescuers look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake's epicentre. AFP

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  Emergency personnel search for victims at the site of a collapsed building in the city of Iskenderun. EPA

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  Muhammet Ruzgar, five, is carried by rescuers from the site of a damaged building in Hatay. Reuters

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  A newborn found attached by her umbilical cord to her mother and pulled alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria receives care at a clinic in Afrin. AFP

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  Women grieve in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters

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  Smoke billows at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun, Turkey. Getty

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  An Iraqi plane offloads aid at Damascus airport in Syria. Reuters

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  Two people cry near rubble in Turkey's Hatay province. Reuters

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  A damaged building in Iskenderun. EPA

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  Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun. EPA

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  Cennet Sucu is rescued from beneath the rubble of collapsed hospital in Iskenderun. Reuters

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  Security forces load Red Crescent aid on to a plane destined for Syria at a military base in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

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  People rest next to fire amid the rubble in Hatay, after a 7. 8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey's south-east. AFP

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  Rescuers board a charter plane in Cologne, Germany, as they head to Turkey to assist in the search for find survivors of the quake. Reuters

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  Injured survivors wait to be treated at a field hospital in Iskenderun,Turkey. Getty

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  Residents of Turkish city Adana gather at the scene of a collapsed building. The death toll in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 2,000 after the region's strongest quake in nearly a century. AFP

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  Residents search for survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in the village of Besnia, in Syria's north-western Idlib province. AFP

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  A rescuer carries a Syrian toddler, Raghad Ismail, away from the rubble of a building. Reuters

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  Residents wait anxiously as rescue operations take place in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

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  Rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble in Diyarbakir. Reuters

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  Residents search for survivors in Besnia, Syria. AFP

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  A Syrian man weeps as he carries the body of his son who was killed in an earthquake in the town of Jandaris. AFP

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  A wounded man in Jandaris. AFP

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  Rescue workers search for survivors in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

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  A man carries a girl to safety following the earthquake, in Jandaris, Syria. Reuters

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  People receive treatment at Al Rahma hospital in the Syrian town of Darkush. AFP

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  Rescuers carry a girl from a collapsed building, in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

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  A survivor is extracted from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP

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  The aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 in Adana, Turkey. Reuters

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  Rescuers work near the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. Reuters

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  Turkish sweet vendors at Dubai Waterfront Market watch earthquake updates on a phone. Victor Besa / The National

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  Hayri Aggül and Ismet Guven watch the latest news on the disaster. Victor Besa / The National

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  Syrian President Bashar Al Assad (C) leads an emergency cabinet meeting in the capital, Damascus. EPA

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  Hundreds of people were killed as they slept. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National

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  Rescue teams search for survivors in Idlib, Syria. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National

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  Rescue teams look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP

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  A desperate search for survivors in Aleppo. AFP

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  Despair in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey. AFP

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  An injured survivor is pulled from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP

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  Relatives face an anxious wait as emergency teams search for survivors in Diyarbakir. EPA

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  Damage caused by the earthquake in Idlib, north-western Syria. Moawia Atrash for The National

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  An injured child is plucked from the rubble of a building following the earthquake in rebel-held Azaz, Syria. Reuters

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  A Syrian Civil Defence team recovering victims of the earthquake in Idlib. Moawia Atrash for The National

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  Tremors were felt as far away as Cyprus, Egypt and Iraq. Moawia Atrash for The National

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  Destruction in the rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria. Reuters

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  People search through rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

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  A car is smashed up by fallen debris in Azaz. Reuters

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  Damaged vehicles after the powerful earthquake in Diyarbakir. EPA

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  Severe damage to a mosque in Malatya, Turkey. AP

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  Several buildings collapsed, trapping many people underneath the rubble. AP

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  Hospitals in north-eastern Syria were full of injured people. AFP

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  An injured man waits for treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital in Syria's Idlib province. AFP

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  A car is buried underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Azmarin, a town in Syria's Idlib province. AP

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  Rescuers search for victims as an ambulance waits. AFP

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  An injured child awaits treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital. AFP

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  Rescuers search through the rubble for survivors. EPA

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  The US Geological Survey said the quake began at 4.17am local time. EPA

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  People at the site of a collapsed building. EPA

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  The earthquake in Turkey caused widespread destruction. AP

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  People gather around a collapsed building in Pazarcik, in Turkey's Kahramanmaras province. AP

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  At least 130 buildings collapsed in the Turkish city of Malatya. Reuters

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  Rescuers search for victims in Diyarbakir. AFP

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  Rescuers carry a victim at the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. AFP

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  Rescuers search for survivors in Hama. AFP

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  Rescuers carry a victim pulled out from under the rubble of an eight-storey building. AFP

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  Damaged buildings in Hama. The aftershocks of the quake were felt in Syria and other neighbouring countries. Reuters

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  A Syrian Civil Defence representative said the situation in the city was catastrophic. Reuters

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  The death toll is expected to rise in Turkey and Syria. Reuters

Follow the latest on the earthquake in Turkey

A major earthquake on Monday evening has left widespread devastation across Turkey and Syria, with more than 2,600 dead.

Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed, with many people feared trapped under the rubble.

The quake and scores of aftershocks, one of which was almost as big as the original earthquake, was felt across the region in Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq, and as far away as Greenland.

The initial quake had a 7.8 magnitude. The death toll is expected to rise sharply.

Governments and international aid groups rushed to help Turkey and Syria with emergency assistance, pledging everything from disaster rescue specialist teams to vital humanitarian aid. Turkish President Reccip Tayyip Erdogan said 45 countries had offered help with search and rescue efforts.

The UAE said it would set up a field hospital and dispatch search and rescue teams to Turkey and Syria, and would provide urgent relief to Syria's hardest hit areas.

"The UAE reiterated its solidarity with Turkey and Syria over the victims and expressed its sincere condolences to the two countries and their peoples," the country's foreign ministry said.

In Turkey, the death toll stood at 1,651, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, and 11,119 people were recorded as injured. At least 968 people were killed in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus government and rescue workers in the northwestern region controlled by insurgents.

Survivors in Turkey rushed out into the snow-covered streets in their pyjamas, watching rescue operations search for survivors with their hands. In northeastern Syria, terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook.

Mr Erdogan acknowledged the challenge presented by the cold weather on Monday evening.

"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult," he said.

Erdem, a resident of Gaziantep, a city near the quake's epicentre, said he had “never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived”.

“We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib,” he said.

In the rebel-held north, which shares a border with Turkey, the Syrian American Medical Society (Sams) said it had to evacuate one of its hospitals in the Idlib village of Aldana, about 160km from Gaziantep, after it sustained “major damage” and was deemed unsafe.

A Sams official with the society said hospitals were overwhelmed and patients were being treated in hallways and on floors.

At least two of the society's maternity hospitals sustained damage and were evacuated, the official said.

Health officials in Hama said a child was among those killed when a three-storey building collapsed.

“Wounded people are still arriving in waves,” Aleppo's health director Ziad Hage Taha told Reuters by telephone.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 17.9km.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said they recorded 42 aftershocks, the strongest with a magnitude of 6.6.

Turkey declared a “level 4 alarm” and urged the world to send assistance as Mr Erdogan called the governors of eight affected provinces for an update on the situation and rescue efforts, his office said.

Mr Erdogan said on Twitter: “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.”

Syria's President Bashar Al Assad was on Monday holding an emergency cabinet meeting, his office said.

Most affected regions in northern Syria are largely under the control of rebels and extremist groups still at war with Damascus, potentially complicating aid delivery. Most aid to the area enters through the badly hit regions of Turkey.

The region straddles seismic fault lines, although Monday's quake was the strongest in about a century.

In August 1999, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake near the Turkish city of Izmit killed more than 17,100 people and injured 50,000 others.

More than 500,000 homes were destroyed, largely due to the widespread use of poor-quality building materials.

Since then, Turkey has tried to improve regulations to prevent or reduce the possibility of buildings collapsing.

Residents sifting through rubble

The scale of Monday's quake was still being determined, but in Malatya, 160km north-east of Gaziantep, authorities said at least 140 buildings had collapsed.

In Osmaniye, 95km east of Gaziantep, at least 35 buildings were flattened.

Across eastern Turkey, emergency teams worked to free people trapped beneath the rubble.

Footage broadcast by local news channels showed residents sifting through debris in the dark while awaiting emergency rescue teams.

A member of the Syrian Civil Defence rescue team, known as the White Helmets, in Salqin, near the Turkish border, called the situation “catastrophic”.

“Tens of buildings completely collapsed and there is an entire electricity blackout,” the representative said. “All the residents are out on the streets, out of fear that their buildings might collapse at any moment.”

Rescue teams were working to clear roads in Afrin after fears that heavy snow and freezing temperatures would impede relief efforts.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said northern Syria did not have the capacity to treat the injured, “let alone perform resuscitation efforts for the fallen”.

“This is why we will be seeing the death toll rise like exponentially throughout the day,” he said.

Quake felt around the region

The earthquake was felt hundreds of kilometres away.

In the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, roads were congested as many residents sought shelter in their cars amid fears that their buildings would collapse.

In Lebanon, some residents ran out of their homes after being awakened at around 3.20am by a 4.8-magnitude aftershock.

In the south, people stood in the street in the rain. As of 7am local time, there were no reports of deaths or injuries but the National News Agency said the shocks had cracked a road in the southern city of Tyre.

In Egypt, the state geophysics institute said a series of aftershocks measured at magnitude 6 were felt in coastal cities and in Cairo, but there were no reports of casualties or damage to property.

Mohammed Safey, 40, who lives in Cairo, said he was awakened by the earthquake.

“I woke up thinking my dog was walking on top of me while I was sleeping,” he said.