A Strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit southern Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, killing several hundred people in both countries and causing very significant damage, according to initial reports that are constantly changing.
At least 284 people have been killed in Turkey and more than 2,000 injured, in seven different provinces, according to the first data from the government agency for disaster management (Afad) which counts nearly 1,800 collapsed buildings.
In Syria, at least 237 people have lost their lives, authorities say, and dozens more in rebel areas. More than 600 people were injured, the same sources said. In the rebel areas, the death toll rose to 147 dead in the rebel areas according to the rescuers, who also reported more than 340 injured. “One hundred and forty-seven civilians are dead and more than 340 injured, according to a provisional report, in the province of Idlib and the surroundings of Aleppo”, in the north of the country, announced the White Helmets on Twitter, adding expect a “significant increase” in the number of victims, “hundreds of families are still under the rubble”.