International Desk: The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria approached to 11,200 on Wednesday.

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The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria early on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.

Officials said 8,574 people were killed in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria from Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor.

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Nearly 50,000 people were also injured in Turkey and another 5,000 in Syria, officials and rescuers on both sides said, AFP reports.

While concerns are rising for those still trapped, Polish rescuers working in Turkey said they had pulled nine people alive from the rubble so far, including parents with two children and a 13-year-old girl from the ruins in the city of Besni.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an update on the casualty figures during a visit to Kahramanmaras, a southern Turkish city at the epicentre of the initial quake.

Television images showed him hugging a weeping, elderly woman and walking through a large crowd towards a Red Crescent humanitarian relief tent.

Sun News/MR

Death devastating earthquake Syria Turkey buildings wrecking people

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