Turkey-Syria earthquake: death toll exceeds 5,000 people

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria dug with their bare hands through the freezing night Tuesday hunting for survivors among the rubble of thousands of buildings felled in a series of violent earthquakes on Monday.

The death toll across the two countries nearing 5,000 after a swarm of strong tremors occurred near the Turkey-Syria border - the largest of which measured a massive 7.8 in magnitude.

The number of people killed by two earthquakes in Turkey has reached 3,381, 20,426 have suffered injuries. As many as 5,775 buildings have been destroyed and damage to another 11,000 buildings has been reported.

At least 1,602 people were killed and thousands injured in Syria following a number of deadly earthquakes and aftershocks in neighbouring Turkey, authorities and rescuers said on Tuesday.

State news agency SANA said at least 812 people were killed and 1,449 people injured in the government-held provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Tartous.

At least 790 people were killed in Syria's opposition-held northwest and 2,200 injured with the toll expected to "rise dramatically," the White Helmets rescue team said.

A number of tremors have been recorded in Turkey since the quake first struck, with magnitudes ranging from 3 and 6.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras on Monday. The quake was followed by almost 150 aftershocks, which were felt in ten regions of Turkey, as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria.

Another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 struck central Turkey in the early hours of Tuesday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reported. According to the facility, the epicenter was 13 kilometers northeast of the town of Besni, population of about 41,800, at a depth of 10 kilometers.

International help

Russian emergency teams who arrived in Turkey to help with the aftermath of the powerful earthquake have been dispatched to Kahramanmaras, the Turkish province hit hardest by the quake. The first group of rescuers equipped with three off-road vehicles has been sent to the mountainous area, one of the hardest hit by the earthquake. Russian rescuers will have to cover a distance of some 200 km through the mountains.

A Russian Emergencies Ministry IL-76 aircraft with rescuers, cynologists and special equipment arrived on Tuesday in Syria.

Azerbaijani rescuers, sent to quake-hit Türkiye continue conducting search operations on the territory of Turkish Kahramanmarash.

Sixty Georgian professionals left for Turkey to ensure aid in the rescue operations following the earthquake.