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Gallery|Earthquakes

Hundreds dead after strong earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northwest Syria, killing hundreds of people as buildings collapsed.

earthquake
An injured young girl awaits treatment at a hospital following the earthquake, in the Syrian border town of Azaz in the rebel-held north of the Aleppo province. [Nayef al-Aboud/AFP]
Published On 6 Feb 20236 Feb 2023
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A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside on a cold winter night.

More than 7,300 people were killed and hundreds injured in Turkey and Syria, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under the rubble of buildings in multiple cities on both sides of the border.

The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centred north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 95km (60 miles) from the Syrian border.

On the Syrian side of the border, the quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some four million internally displaced people (IDP) from the long civil war. Many of them live in decrepit conditions with little healthcare. At least 11 people were killed in Atmeh and many more were buried in the rubble, Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor in the town, told The Associated Press news agency by telephone.

On the Turkish side, several big cities home to millions of Syrian refugees were in the affected area.

There were at least six strong aftershocks, and interior minister Suleyman Soylu urged people not to enter damaged buildings, citing risks.

The earthquake came as the region is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

Some 18,000 people were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

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Rescue workers search for survivors in Kahramanmaras after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey. [Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency]
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A collapsed building in Sanliurfa after the earthquake hit Turkey. [Rauf Maltas/Anadolu Agency]
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The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centred north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 95km (60 miles) from the Syrian border. [Rauf Maltas/Anadolu Agency]
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A collapsed building in Kilis, Turkey. The quake that hit early in the morning was felt as far as Cyprus and Lebanon. [Cebrail Caymaz/Anadolu Agency]
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Rescuers in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake jolted the southern province of Kahramanmaras early on Monday. It was followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake that struck southeastern Gaziantep province. Then a third quake of magnitude 6.5 hit Gaziantep. [Rauf Maltas/Anadolu Agency]
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A car is seen under the wreckage of a collapsed building in Azmarin town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. [Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo]
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Rescuers carry a person on a stretcher work at the site of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Hama, Syria
Rescuers carry a person on a stretcher at the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. [Handout/SANA via Reuters]
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A collapsed building in Azez, Syria. [Omer Alven/Anadolu Agency]
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Dead bodies in bags lie on the floor in a hospital in Afrin, Syria. [Mahmoud Hassano/Reuters]
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A view of debris after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Osmaniye, Turkiye. [Ozan Efeoglu/Anadolu]
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A man reacts as people search for survivors through the rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. [Ilyas Akengin/AFP]
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Onlookers watch as rescue teams look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. [AFP]
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Search and rescue efforts continue on a collapsed building in Diyarbakir, Turkey. [Aydın Arik/Anadolu]
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Firefighters carry the body of a victim in Diyarbakir. [Mahmut Bozarsan/AP Photo]
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An aerial view of collapsed buildings in Hatay, Turkiye. [Ercin Erturk/Anadolu]


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