Young Girl Trapped Under Debris Rescued In Earthquake-Hit Turkiye Amid Devastation. WATCH
Videos of rescue teams scrambling to find survivors trapped under debris in Turkey flooded social media after the middle eastern country and Syria were rocked by two massive earthquakes on Monday, leaving over 1,500 people dead. Videos from Turkey showed rescue workers searching for survivors through tangles of metal and concrete amid rows of collapsed buildings in the background.
A video tweeted by Anadolu Agency shows a team pulling out a young girl trapped under a heap of rubble in Turkey's southeastern Sanliurfa province. The team is then seen carrying the girl, covered in dust, to get medical treatment.
The first earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck early morning on Monday in south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, as people slept. Hours later, a second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province in Turkey.
Tremors were felt as far away as Lebanon, Greece, Israel, and the island of Cyprus.
Thousands more were injured as the quake reduced entire sections of major cities into rubble. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said over 900 people were killed, 5,383 injured, and 2,818 buildings had collapsed.
In neighboring Syria, at least 592 people have died, mostly in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA, which also reported 1,089 injuries.
The toll is expected to rise as rescue workers searched frantically for survivors under the debris of crushed buildings in cities on both sides of the border.
READ | Second Earthquake Strikes Turkey And Syria As Toll From First Tremor Rises To 1,500
"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived. We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib," said one survivor in Gaziantep, southern Turkey, to BBC.
Nearly 1,000 search and rescue volunteers have been deployed from Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, along with dogs, trucks, and aid, CNN quoted Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya as saying.
Offers of help -- from search-and-rescue teams to medical supplies and financial aid -- poured in from dozens of countries, including India as well as the European Union and NATO.
The earthquake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when a temblor of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people, according to the USGSThe White House will “continue to closely monitor the situation” in coordination with Turkey’s leadership, he added.
The impact of the quake was reportedly felt as far away as Cairo, Egypt.
Syria is weathering an ongoing civil war, and Turkey is home to a high number of refugees, who are expected to be among those most affected by the earthquake’s damage.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake was followed by a powerful 7.5 magnitude aftershock, among others — the most powerful to hit the region in decades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report, which was updated at 7:33 a.m.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The HillThe tremor occurred at a depth of seven kilometers, reported Anadolu Agency.
The general director of earthquake and risk reduction at AFAD, Orhan Tatar, said there is serious earthquake activity in the region and aftershocks up to 6.5 - 6.7 in magnitude will continue.
Early Monday morning, a strong 7.8 earthquake jolted Kahramanmaras and heavily affected several provinces including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis.
Following the first quake, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at least 912 people were killed and 5,385 others injured in 10 provinces. - Bernama.
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