Hundreds killed as 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Turkiye, Syria

An aerial view of debris of a collapsed building after 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Osmaniye, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Muzaffer Çağlıyaner/Anadolu Agency]

Search and rescue efforts continue on collapsed building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Kahramanmaras, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Okan Coşkun – Anadolu Agency ]

A view of demolished building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Hatay, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Erdal Türkoğlu – Anadolu Agency ]

Turkish gendarmerie rescued a cat under rubble of a Galeria Mall after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Diyarbakir, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Aydın Arik – Anadolu Agency ]

Turkish gendarmerie rescued a cat under rubble of a Galeria Mall after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Diyarbakir, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Aydın Arik – Anadolu Agency ]

A view of demolished building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Hatay, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Erçin Ertürk – Anadolu Agency ]

An aerial view of debris of a collapsed building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Hatay, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Murat Şengül – Anadolu Agency ]

An aerial view of debris of a collapsed building after 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Hatay, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Murat Şengül – Anadolu Agency ]

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 hits the epicenter of 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkiye as search and rescue operations continue in Diyarbakir, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Esra Hacioğlu Karakaya – Anadolu Agency ]

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 hits the epicenter of 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkiye as search and rescue operations continue in Diyarbakir, Turkiye on February 06, 2023. [Esra Hacioğlu Karakaya – Anadolu Agency ]

A view of collapsed building after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit southern provinces of Turkiye, in Hatay, Turkiye on February 6, 2023 in Hatay, Turkiye. [Ali Kemal Zerenli – Anadolu Agency ]

At least 500 people have been killed in Turkiye and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the countries. Thousands more were left injured.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake struck at a depth of ten kilometres near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, while the EMSC monitoring service said the chance of a tsunami risk was being evaluated.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake.

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“We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” he wrote.

Arab countries extended condolences to Turkiye and Syria following the earthquake.

7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkiye was felt in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot Administration, and Iraq. [Yasin Demirci – Anadolu Agency]

The head of Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, expressed sympathy with Turkiye and Syria, saying: “I extend my condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones, and wish a quick recovery to the wounded.”

According to Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, the death toll from the devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Turkiye rose to 284, along with over 2,320 injured people.

At least 237 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in opposition held areas of Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Hundreds of buildings collapsed and millions of people in Turkiye, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel felt the earth shake.

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