Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said the 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurred at 4:17 a.m. (8:17 a.m. Hanoi time) in Pazarcik district, near the city of Kahramanmaras, in the province of the same name.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake, with a 6.7 magnitude aftershock occurring 15 minutes later, was one of the strongest to hit the area in at least a century, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
A three-story building in the city of Kahramanmaras, southeastern Türkiye, was destroyed in the earthquake early on February 6.
The earthquake shook and collapsed hundreds of houses. According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of about 17.9 km, near the city of Kahramanmaras in the southeast of the country.
People search for victims buried under a collapsed building in Diyarbakir city, Diyarbakir province, eastern Türkiye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 912 people were killed and more than 5,000 injured, with the worst damage in Kahramanmaras province. Syrian state media quoted Ahmed Damiriyye, assistant health minister, as saying more than 326 people were killed and 639 injured in the Aleppo, Hama and Latakia regions, bringing the total death toll from the earthquake to at least 1,238. The death toll is expected to rise as many people are trapped in the rubble.
Davut Gul, governor of Gaziantep province in southeastern Türkiye, advised residents to stay calm and wait outside their homes. "Do not panic, do not use cars or gather in large numbers on main roads," he said.
Rescuers use cranes to search for victims trapped under the rubble after the earthquake in Diyarbakir, while medical staff stand by, ready to take the injured to hospital.
Türkiye is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 1999, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Izmit, southeast of Istanbul, killing more than 17,000 people. In 2011, an earthquake struck the eastern city of Van, killing more than 500 people.
