
Five back-to-back earthquakes since Monday have killed over 19,000 people and left tens of thousands injured in Turkey and Syria.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 centered in the Pazarcik district jolted Kahramanmaras and hit several provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis. Later in the day, an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude centred in Kahramanmaras's Elbistan district jolted the region.
The earthquake was also felt in several neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Syria. The third earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Goksun, Turkey. The United Nations said the first quake of magnitude 7.8 that had hit southern Turkey early Monday was the county's most powerful quake in more than 80 years.
Meanwhile, the Turkish president on Tuesday declared a ‘state of emergency ’ in 10 worst-hit provinces for the next 3 months.
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Turkey-Syria quake toll tops 7,300 as rescuers battle cold
Rescuers in Turkey and Syria battled bitter cold Tuesday in a race against time to find survivors under buildings flattened by an earthquake that killed more than 7,300 people.
Tremors that inflicted more suffering on a border area, already plagued by conflict, left people on the streets burning debris to try to stay warm as international aid began to arrive.
But some extraordinary survival tales have emerged, including a newborn baby pulled alive from rubble in Syria, still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother who died in Monday's quake.
"We heard a voice while we were digging," Khalil al-Suwadi, a relative, told AFP. "We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord (intact) so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital."
The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom were killed in the rebel-held town of Jindayris. (AFP)
US search and rescue teams set to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday
Two U.S. Agency for International Development teams will arrive Wednesday morning in Turkey and will head to the southeastern province of Adiyaman to focus on urban search and rescue following earthquakes that killed more than 6,300 people and left a trail of destruction in Turkey and neighboring Syria.
USAID's disaster assistance response team leader for the earthquake response, Stephen Allen, told reporters on Tuesday the teams will be about 80 people each and also bring 12 dogs and 170,000 pounds of specialized tools and equipment, including for triage and concrete breaking.
The U.S. military aircraft carrying the teams and equipment were to land at Incirlik Air Base in the southern Turkish province of Adana and deploy immediately to hard-hit urban centers to save as many people as possible, Allen said.
"They really do work 24/7, they work in shifts, they go around the clock, because every hour does count in the first few days," Allen said.
The 7.8 magnitude quake, followed hours later by a second one almost as powerful, destroyed thousands of homes, leaving people homeless in close to freezing temperatures. Scores more are thought to be still trapped under the collapsed buildings.
President Joe Biden spoke to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer condolences and reaffirm Washington's readiness to assist in rescue efforts. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to "pick up the phone and let us know" what Washington can do to help.
Allen said Washington expected more funding would be needed in the coming days in both Turkey and Syria, which has also been heavily impacted by the earthquake, and that the U.S. government was speaking to partners about additional aid.
Aid officials voiced particular concern about Syria, already afflicted by a humanitarian crisis after nearly 12 years of civil war. (Reuters)
Earthquake death toll rises above 7,100 in Turkey and Syria: AFP
9-yr-old boy donates entire piggy bank savings toward Turkey quake relief
A 9-year-old Turkish boy, who survived an earthquake only last November, donated his entire piggy bank savings towards the relief work for Monday's Turkey-Syria quake that killed over 5,400 people, left tens of thousands injured and turned cities into rubble. Read here
Death toll crosses 6,200
Rescuers in Turkey and Syria battled frigid cold Tuesday in a race against time to find survivors under buildings flattened by a earthquake that killed more than 6,200 people.
Tremors that inflicted more suffering on a border area, already plagued by conflict, left people on the streets burning debris to try to stay warm as international aid began to arrive.
The latest toll showed 4,544 people killed in Turkey and 1,712 in Syria, for a combined total of 6,256 fatalities.
Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll tops 5,400
Rescuers in Turkey and Syria battled frigid cold Tuesday in a race against time to find survivors under buildings flattened by a earthquake that killed more than 5,400 people, AFP reported.
IAF planes land in Turkey with relief material
India on Tuesday sent to Turkiye relief materials, a mobile hospital and specialised search and rescue teams in two C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft to help the country in the wake of the devastating earthquake and multiple aftershocks that killed over 4,000 people.
Two more flights are expected to carry more relief items, including medical supplies, soon to Turkiye while another one is set to be sent to Syria which was also hit by the earthquake on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
Several countries around the world have extended help to both countries in their rescue and recovery efforts.
Over 1,712 killed in Syria
At least 1,712 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 900 people were killed in Syria's opposition-held northwest and 2,300 injured with the toll expected to "rise dramatically," the White Helmets rescue team said.
Newborn pulled alive from rubble
Extended family members pulled a newborn baby alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria, after finding her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday's massive quake, a relative said.
The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom were all killed when the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck Syria and neighbouring Turkey flattened the family home in the rebel-held town of Jindayris, Khalil al-Suwadi said.
"We heard a voice while we were digging," Suwadi told AFP Tuesday.
"We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord (intact) so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital." Watch video
UAE to allocate $100 mln for earthquake relief efforts in Syria, Turkey
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has ordered the allocation of $100 million to support earthquake relief efforts in Syria and Turkey, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.
Turkey Earthquake: Rescue video
Here's look at another rescue video. Watch here
India dispatches an Indian Army field hospital
India dispatches an Indian Army field hospital to Turkey to establish 30 bedded medical facility. Its first component has left on IAF's C17 with a 45-member medical team,incl critical care specialists & surgeons. Also has X-ray machine, ventilators, OT & other equipment: MEA Spox
Delhi: Turkish flag flies at half-mast
Turkish flag flies at half-mast at the Embassy of Turkey in Delhi, ANI reports
50 billion Syrian pounds for rescue work in Syria
50 billion Syrian pounds are allocated as an initial amount to finance the emergency operations undertaken to deal with the effects of the devastating earthquake that struck the country.
100 billion lira for rescue work in Turkey
“For the emergency aid and support, we have allocated a resource of 100 billion liras at the disposal of our institutions in the first place", Turkish president Erdogan tweeted.
Turkey death toll risen to over 3,500
Turkish President Erdoagan has expressed that the death toll in the country has risen to 3,549. The president also declared a ‘state of emergency’ in the ten impacted states for the next 3 months.
The president also informed that over 70 countries have offered aid to Turkey.
A race against time: WHO chief
"It's now a race against time," World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes."
Across the region, rescuers toiled through the night and into the morning searching for survivors as people waited in anguish by mounds of rubble, clinging to the hope that friends and relatives might be found alive.
Turkey's Gazintap Castle destroyed
The earthquake has destroyed 2,200 years old Gazintap Castle in Turkey. See Photos here
Turkey, Syria heritage sites damaged, UNESCO sounds alarm
The UN's cultural agency UNESCO said on Tuesday it was ready to provide assistance after two sites listed on its World Heritage list in Syria and Turkey sustained damage in the devastating earthquake.
As well as the damage to the old city of Syria's Aleppo and the fortress in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, UNESCO said at least three other World Heritage sites could be affected.
"Our organisation will provide assistance within its mandate," said UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay.
A statement from UNESCO said it and partners had already carried out an initial survey of the damage of the quake which struck before dawn on Monday.
It said it was "particularly concerned" about the old city of Aleppo, which has been on its list of World Heritage in Danger since 2013 due to the Syrian civil war.
Turkish ambassador lauds India's effort
India is among the countries that send teams for search & rescue operations. After the first earthquake India's NDRF held a coordination meeting on the instruction of PM Modi, Turkish Ambassador to India said
He further added, We really appreciate the sincere and kind help of India.
Building topples like a stack of cards
Building topples like a stack of cards. Watch video here
Eyewitness account
As a series of deadly earthquakes rippled through eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, some thought that the apocalypse had finally arrived. Another likened the repeated quakes to being ‘shaken like a baby in a crib’. the death toll has now crossed the 5000 mark with tens of thousands of other civilians injured. Read here
Syria's Red Crescent ready to deliver aid to opposition-held areas
Syria's Red Crescent is ready to deliver relief aid to all the country's regions including opposition-held areas and is urging the United Nation to facilitate this, its head said on Tuesday.
"We do not differentiate between any of the Syrian people. We are the Syrian Arab Red Crescent for all the Syrian people," Khaled Hboubati told in a news conference.
At least 1,602 people have been killed and thousands injured in Syria following the earthquake and aftershocks in neighbouring Turkey.
Earthquake likely to affect over 23 mn people: WHO
Up to 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria, the WHO warned on Tuesday, promising long-term assistance.
"Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations," the World Health Organization's senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang said.
"Civilian infrastructure and potentially health infrastructure have been damaged across the affected region, mainly in Turkey and northwest Syria," she said.
The WHO "considers that the main unmet needs may be in Syria in the immediate and mid-term," Marschang told the WHO's executive committee in Geneva.
Karnataka sets up helpline to aid people from the state in Turkey
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said his government is setting up a helpline to come to the aid of people from the state, in the earthquake-hit Turkey. He said the state government is in touch with the External Affairs Ministry and Indian Embassy to gather information regarding Kannadiagas there. "We are in touch with the External Affairs Ministry, they are setting up a special help line, we are also gathering information regarding Kannadigas there through the Ministry and the Embassy in Turkey," Bommai said.
IndiGo offered free cargo movement to Istanbul
The government of India has called an urgent meeting with Indian carriers that operate flights to Turkey, in the aftermath of earthquakes in the western Asian country.
During the meeting, India's low-cost airline IndiGo offered free cargo movement to Istanbul on its scheduled flights.
The Indian aviation regulator has held a meeting with Indian carriers over operating flights to Turkey for cargo movements in commercial scheduled flights. IndiGo has offered free cargo movement on its scheduled commercial flights using Boeing 777 aircraft to Istanbul." an aviation industry source told ANI.
NDFR teams left for Turkey
Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 101 personnel, left for Turkiye on Tuesday to help in rescue operations after a 7.8 magnitude quake killed thousands of people in the country.
The federal contingency force is accompanied by two search dogs, four-wheeled vehicles, chipping hammers, cutting tools, first aid medicines and communication setup.
The personnel, drawn from teams based in Ghaziabad and Kolkata, boarded two Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 aircraft from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad, an NDRF officer told PTI.
Over 5,000 dead in Turkey, Syria
The death toll from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks rose to more than 5,000 on Tuesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said the total number of deaths in Turkey had risen to 3,419, with another 20,534 people injured. That brought the number of people killed to 5,102, with another 1,602 people confirmed dead on the Syrian side of the border.
Turkey detains four over earthquake social media posts
Turkish police on Tuesday said they had detained four people over "provocative" social media posts following a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey.
The quake struck the region early on Monday, killing more than 4,800 people in Turkey and Syria, injuring thousands and leaving many more without shelter in the bitter cold.
The four individuals were detained after officers found accounts that shared "provocative posts aiming to create fear and panic", the police said. (AFP)
Former Newcastle winger Atsu pulled alive from Turkey earthquake rubble
Ghana international winger Christian Atsu has been found alive after being buried under rubble in the earthquake that hit Turkey, the vice president of his club Hatayspor told media on Tuesday.
Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor, was reported missing in Turkey's Hatay province following the 7.8 magnitude quake that brought down thousands of buildings, killing some 5,000 people, in several Turkish and Syrian cities on Monday.
"Christian Atsu was pulled out injured. Our sporting director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still under the rubble," club vice president Mustafa Ozak told Radyo Gol. (Reuters)
Freezing weather slowing Turkey rescue effort
A frantic race was underway on Tuesday to find more survivors and help the injured as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria the previous day reached 4,900.
Frantic searching in Turkey, Syria after quake kills 4,983
Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the death toll to 4,983.
Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, and Turkey's disaster management agency said more than 24,400 emergency personnel were now on the ground.
Here's what WHO says about Turkey-Syria earthquake
“We are especially concerned about areas of Turkey, and Syria from which we have no information after the deadly earthquake," said the WHO director-general.
Earthquake: At least 1,602 killed in Syria so far
At least 1,602 people were killed and thousands injured in Syria following a number of deadly earthquakes and aftershocks in neighboring Turkey, authorities and rescuers said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Death toll in Turkey and Syria nears 5,000
Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria approached 5,000 on Tuesday, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts.
Death toll rises to 812 in Syrian government-held areas: Report
At least 812 people were killed in government-held areas in Syria following two deadly earthquakes and a series of aftershocks in neighboring Turkey, state news agency SANA said on Tuesday.
SANA said at least 1,449 people were injured in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib, and Tartous. (Reuters)
5.7 magnitude earthquake hits eastern Turkey: Report
An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck eastern Trukey on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
The quake was at a depth of 46 km (28.58 miles), the centre added.
India to send two more IAF planes with rescue personnel to Turkey
India will send two more C-17 Indian Air Force planes to Turkey later this evening with 60 Para Field Hospital and personnel to assist in rescue and relief operations. (ANI)
Earthquake: Germany's rescue team arrives at Gaziantep airport in Turkey
Germany's Foreign Ministry said it is coordinating its aid response with EU partners and readying deliveries of emergency generators, tents, blankets and water treatment equipment. It also has offered to send teams from the THW civil protection agency to Turkey to help with the response. The group International Search and Rescue Germany was also preparing to fly dozens of doctors and rescue experts to Turkey late Monday.

Indian Army dispatches medical team to earthquake-hit Turkey
The Indian Army on Tuesday mobilised a field hospital to provide medical support to the earthquake-affected people of Turkey in line with the government's decision to provide support to the country.
Officials said the Agra-based Army Field Hospital has despatched an 89-member medical team.
The medical team comprises critical care specialists. The contingent includes orthopaedic surgical teams, general surgical specialist team and medical specialist teams apart from others.
The teams are equipped with X-ray machines, ventilators, oxygen generation plant, cardiac monitors and associated equipment to establish a 30-bedded medical facility. (PTI)
‘Sooner or later’: Researcher's old prediction on Turkey-Syria earthquake
Turkey port fire rages after deadly earthquake | Watch video
A frantic race was underway on Tuesday to find more survivors and help the injured as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria the previous day reached 4,600.
A large fire that broke out at a section of a port in an earthquake-stricken city in southeast Turkey is raging for a second day.
Television images Tuesday showed thick black smoke rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the city of Iskenderun. Reports said the fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey on Monday. (AP)
Engineers, search dogs sent to Turkey, Syria after earthquake
Structural engineers, soldiers, paramedics and handlers with trained search dogs are heading to Turkey and Syria to help locate and rescue survivors of Monday’s earthquake. Countries providing aid to Turkey and Syria include Japan, US, Germany, Britain, Israel, South Korea, etc.
‘Dost’: Turkish envoy thanks India for sending quake relief aid
""Dost" is a common word in Turkish and Hindi... We have a Turkish proverb: "Dost kara günde belli olur" (a friend in need is a friend indeed).Thank you very much," Firat Sunel, Turkish Ambassador to India tweeted.
Turkey Earthquake: Death toll surpasses 3,000 mark
The death toll in Turkey due to earthquake has reached 3,381, according to AFAD disaster agency.
Syria: Medical staff working all-day to treat huge number of injured
Sebastien Gay, the group’s head of mission in Syria said health facilities in northern Syria were overwhelmed with medical personnel working around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of injured.
The quake-damaged area in Syria is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by government forces and borders Turkey.
Gay said the needs are very high in northwestern Syria, where the earthquake added a dramatic layer for vulnerable people who are still struggling after many years of war. “The massive consequences of this disaster will require a (scaled up) international aid effort," he said.
'Many families still under quake rubble': Syrian opposition rescuers
Time is running out to save hundreds of families still trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings after this week's devastating earthquake, the head of the Syrian opposition-run civil defence service said on Tuesday.
Raed al-Saleh told Reuters urgent help was needed from international groups for the rescue effort by the organisation known as the White Helmets in rebel-held northwest Syria, where hundreds were killed and injured. (Reuters)
Horrifying images of Turkey after powerful earthquake hit nation
Doctors Without Borders' member dies in Syria earthquake
The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders says a staff member has been found dead under the rubble of his house in Syria’s Idlib province following the powerful earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.
The group says other members of the organization also lost families.
101 NDRF personnel leave for quake-hit Turkey
A National Disaster Response Force team on Tuesday departed for Turkey to help in relief and rescue operations in the country where thousands have died after it was jolted by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, according to officials.
The orange dungaree-clad personnel of the federal contingency force are accompanied by two search dogs, four-wheeled vehicles and communication setup, the officials said.
A total of 101 personnel drawn from two teams based in Ghaziabad near Delhi and Kolkata along with equipment have boarded an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 aircraft to Turkey, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officer told PTI.