International Desk: At least 500 people killed and many others are missing or injured after a powerful earthquake struck southeast Turkiye and northern Syria early on Monday.
Read more: 40 killed in Nigeria clash
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at a depth of 17.9 km. It reported a series of earthquakes, one of 6.7 magnitude.
Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in various cities on both sides of the border.
Read more: Canada imposes sanctions on Russia
Buildings toppled to the ground in Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkiye’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers to the northeast.
Also in Syria, the quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of Syria by the country’s long civil war. Many of them were already living in destitute conditions with little health care, with Russian-backed Syrian forces surrounding the area and sometimes carrying out airstrikes. Rescue workers said hospitals in the area were packed.
Read more: Two killed in truck collision
Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.
Sun News/MR
Copyright © Sunnews24x7Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated.
