A 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday toppled large numbers of buildings in southeastern Turkey and Syria, with many feared dead.
At least 5 deaths were reported on Turkish territory.
In northwestern Syria, the opposition group Syrian Civil Defense said the situation in the rebel-held region was “disastrous”, with entire buildings collapsed and people trapped in the rubble. He urged people to evacuate and gather in open areas.
The US Geological Survey showed that the epicenter of the quake was located about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the city of Gaziantep, the provincial capital. It occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles), added. About 10 minutes later an aftershock of 6.7 occurred.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency said the quake had a magnitude of 7.4 with its epicenter in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province.
Turkey is located in a zone of large geological faults and registers frequent earthquakes.
