As the death toll in the massive earthquake that hit Turkey early on Monday morning rose 1,400 another powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale rocked the southern part of the country in the afternoon. The tremors were also felt in several Syrian provinces.
According to Turkish media, the second earthquake struck Elbistan district in Kahramanmaraş province in southern Turkey. It also rattled Damascus, Latakia in Syria.
The shallow quake hit at 1:24 pm four kilometres southeast of the town of Ekinozu, the US Geological Survey said,
The extent of damage and loss of lives are yet to be confirmed after the second earthquake.
According to reports, hundreds of people are still believed to be trapped under rubble and the death toll is expected to rise even further as rescue operations are continuing in the affected areas.
On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces.
The death toll in government-held areas climbed to 326 people, with some 1,000 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In rebel-held areas, at least 150 people were killed and hundreds have been hurt.
One of the biggest earthquakes in a 100 years that occurred in the morning , triggered tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus and Egypt.
Entire sections of major cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts have been wiped out, according to an AFP report.
The head of Syria’s National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, told pro-government radio that this was “historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre”.
The rescue was being hampered by a winter blizzard that covered major roads in ice and snow.
Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.
According to a CNN report, the quake struck while residents were likely asleep and unprepared for the impact. Video shared on social media show dozens of collapsed buildings, while frightened residents huddled on the darkened streets amid the chaos. Rescue workers can be seen conducting search-and-rescue operations by flashlight.
