The death toll resulting from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria has passed 5,000 as rescue teams continue to pull bodies from piles of rubble.
Turkey's vice president, Fuat Oktay, confirmed the total number of deaths in Turkey rose to 3,419 on Tuesday morning alongside 20,534 injured people. It means the total number of confirmed deaths has now reached 5,102 following 1,602 confirmed deaths on the Syrian side of the border.
On Monday morning, the earthquake brought down thousands of buildings. Rescues were seen frantically rushing to find survivors but searches were impacted by below-freezing temperatures and some 200 aftershocks resulting from the disaster.
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In Turkey's Hatay province, southwest of the earthquake's epicentre, officials say as many as 1,500 buildings were destroyed with many people's relatives being trapped under the rubble. In the city of Gaziantep, roughly 20 miles from the epicentre, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques, and community centres.
According to Syria's health ministry, the death toll in government-held areas climbed to 769 people with some 1,450 injured. In the country's rebel-held northwest, groups that operate there said at least 450 people have died with many more injured.
Following the disaster, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning. Writing on Twitter, he said: "Due to the earthquakes that took place in our country on February 6, 2023, a national mourning period was declared for seven days.
"Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our country and foreign representations."
It is believed by authorities that the death toll will keep climbing as rescue teams look for survivors among piles of metal and concrete.
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