Turkey, Syria Hits By 7.8 Magnitude Of Earthquake, Death Toll Rises
In the southern Turkish town of Gaziantep, some 150 miles from the border with Syria and 50 miles from the epicentre of the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş, residents felt aftershocks hours later.
“We woke up with a jolt, as the electricity was off. We laid still and waited for the shaking to finish. Our house was full of broken glass,” said tradesman Sinan Şahan in Gaziantep. “We used our phone’s flashlight so we could see to get dressed, and hurried out of the house. Anyone able to save themselves has now fled somewhere. I have relatives in Kahramanmaraş, their houses were destroyed. I have seen ambulances going from Antep center to the south side of Maraş since this morning.”
He added: “I was in Istanbul when the big earthquake hit in 1999, this was more severe than that.” He broke off as another aftershock hit.
Official death toll in Turkey rises to 284, with over 2,000 people injured
The death toll has risen to 284 from an earthquake which shook Turkey’s south early on Monday, with 2,323 people injured, vice president Fuat Oktay told a news conference.
Reuters report he said 70 people were killed in the province of Kahramanmaraş, where the quake epicentre was located, along with 20 people in Osmaniye, 18 in Şanlıurfa, 14 in Diyarbakir and 13 in Adiyaman.
With over 230 killed in Syria, the death toll from the earthquake has now risen above 500.