A strong earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and Syria early Monday, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries and the destruction of many buildings.
Rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the rubble.
At least 284 people died in Turkey from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country's southeast on Monday, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said, updating earlier figures. Oktay said more than 2,300 people were injured in one of Turkey's biggest quakes in at least a century.
The Syrian National Seismological Center stated that the areas near the epicentre of the earthquake in Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo are the most affected.
The Center stated that this earthquake is the strongest one since 1995, explaining that the seismic instability will continue, but with weaker tremors and within 5 degrees limits.
"Six hundred and thirty-nine people were injured and 237 were killed in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus," the Syrian health ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority announced that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake had struck the province of Kahramanmaras, in southern Turkey, followed by a second 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Gaziantep, also in the south.
It was felt by populations in Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq and some areas in Egypt.
