A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, killing more than 560 people and toppling buildings.
The earthquake prompted searches for survivors in the rubble in cities and towns across the region. The death toll is expected to rise.
Residents in both countries were awakened by the quake several hours before dawn and rushed out into the cold, rain and snow. Dozens of buildings in towns in the area were torn down.
Rescuers and residents searched for survivors under the rubble of destroyed buildings in several cities in both countries.
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A car under the rubble of a collapsed building, in the city of Azmarin, in the province of Idlib, in northern Syria.
In the Turkish city of Adana, witnesses said they heard a person calling for help from under the rubble of a building.
“I don’t have the strength to go on,” the person allegedly said.
In Diyarbakir, cranes and rescue crews worked on a pile of concrete floors that once made up an apartment building.
In Syria, the earthquake has crushed opposition-controlled regions filled with an estimated 4 million people displaced from other parts of Syria by the country’s ongoing civil war. Many live in decrepit conditions with limited health care.
At least 11 people were killed in the town of Atmeh, with many more buried in the rubble, according to a town doctor, Muheeb Qaddour.
“We fear hundreds of deaths,” said Qaddour of the rebel-controlled northwest. “We are under extreme pressure.”
The quake was felt as far away as Cairo. It was centered about 60 miles from the Syrian border.
At least 20 aftershocks followed the initial quake hours later, with the strongest measuring a magnitude of 6.6, Turkish authorities said.
People search through the rubble of a collapsed building in Azmarin town in Idlib province in northern Syria.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the affected areas.
“We hope to get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with minimal damage,” he wrote.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency reported at least 76 dead in seven Turkish provinces and 440 injured. The death toll in Syria’s government-controlled areas has risen to 237 with at least 630 injured, according to Syrian state media. At least 47 people were reportedly killed in rebel-held areas.
Turkish authorities have urged residents not to drive on the roads, as people trying to leave the damaged areas caused traffic jams, hampering relief efforts. Mosques across the region have opened as shelters for people unable to return to damaged homes due to freezing temperatures.
Rescuers and medical teams try to reach residents trapped in a building that collapsed following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey.
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In northwest Syria, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense said the situation in the rebel-held region was “disastrous” with entire buildings collapsed and people trapped under rubble. Civil defense advised people to evacuate buildings and gather in open areas.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep. It was centered 11 miles down.
The quake also woke residents in Lebanon, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many Beirut residents ran away from home and took to the streets or drove away from buildings in their cars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
