Churches, hospitals, apartments among hundreds of buildings razed to ground n Some 145 aftershocks registered following devastating quakes n Death toll may rise eight-fold, warns WHO n UN Secretary General calls for an international response to the crisis. UNITED NATIONS - A second earthquake of at least 7.5 magnitude rocked Turkiye and neighboring Syria less than 12 hours after the border areas were hit by a quake measuring 7.8, killing more than 2,700 people, with many others missing or injured on Monday morning. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck just after 4 a.m. local time on Monday, 23 kilometerseast of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. Churches, hospitals and residential tower blocks are among the hundreds of buildings razed to the ground - their occupants trapped under the rubble, caught unaware by the massive quake. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning following the deadly quakes that hit the country Monday. Turkish flags will fly at half-staff across the nation and at its diplomatic missions overseas. The Turkish Vice President, Fuat Oktay, said such a disaster could hit “once in a hundred years,” and that his country should be prepared for the death toll — already over 1,600 in Turkey alone — to rise.
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Oktay also said some 145 aftershocks were registered following the deadly quake overnight, with three that were larger than 6.0 magnitude. The death toll across Turkey and Syria rose to at least 2,724 after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The total number of injured climbed to 13,580, based on information provided by various agencies. Turkey has at least 11,119 injured people and Syria has 2,461 injured people following the quake. The total death toll in Syria rose to 1,073. News agency SANA reports 593 across government-controlled areas and the “White Helmets” group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, reported 480 deaths in opposition-controlled areas. The total death toll in Turkey has climbed to 1,651, according to Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay. The death toll from a strong earthquake in south-eastern Turkey, near Syria’s border, could rise eight-fold, the World Health Organisation has warned. Countries around the world are sending support to help the rescue efforts, including specialist teams, sniffer dogs and equipment. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
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Seismologists said the first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey. Survivors said it took two minutes for the shaking to stop. The second quake had a magnitude of 7.5, and its epicentre was in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province. An official from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said it was independent of the earlier tremor and not an aftershock. The death toll in Turkey has exceeded 1,650, while some 1,000 are confirmed to have died in Syria. The WHO has warned that those numbers are likely to increase as much as eight times, as rescuers find more victims in the rubble. “We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows,” the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told AFP.
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Ms Smallwood added that the snowy conditions will leave many people without shelter, adding to the dangers. Aftershocks are still being recorded in Turkey and Syria this evening, more than 12 hours after the first earthquake hit this morning. The shocks, which have been as strong as 7.5 magnitude, are hampering rescue efforts in both countries, where it is understood hundreds remain trapped under debris. In the past hour, a 5.3 magnitude tremor was felt 3km west of Goksun in Turkey, according to the United States Geological Survey. Another struck at 5.46pm in Dogansehir, Turkey, measuring 4.4 magnitude. More than 960 dead in Syria At least 968 people were killed in Syria on Monday as buildings collapsed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Turkey, state media and rescuers said. The quake killed at least 538 people and left at least another 1,353 injured in government-controlled parts of Syria, including the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, the health ministry said.
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In rebel-held parts of the northwest of the country, at least 430 people were killed and more than 1,050 were injured, the White Helmets rescue group said, warning the toll could increase. “Rescue efforts in northwest Syria are facing immense difficulties” because heavy equipment is required, said the group, which operates in rebel-controlled areas of the wartorn country. It said more than 160 buildings had completely collapsed, while 330 had been partially levelled, and thousands of others had been damaged. AFP correspondents in northern Syria said terrified residents ran out of their homes after the earthquake hit before dawn near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Syrian border. Rescuers rushed to search for survivors beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings, under the pouring winter rain.
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The Syrian government urged the international community to come to its aid. More than a decade of conflict -- which began with the regime’s brutal repression of mostly peaceful protests -- and years of economic sanctions have devastated the country’s economy and its ability to respond to large-scale disasters. “Syria appeals to member states of the United Nations... the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian” groups to support “efforts to face the devastating earthquake”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said his government was ready “to provide all the required facilities to international organisations so they can give Syrians humanitarian aid”, after meeting with UN representatives and aid groups.