ISTANBUL: A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early on Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents to gather outside on a cold winter night. Over 300 people were killed in both countries, hundreds were injured and the toll was expected to rise. Rescue workers and residents are frantically searching for survivors under the rubble of crushed buildings in multiple cities on both sides of the border. In one quake-struck Turkish city, dozens pulled away chunks of concrete and twisted metal.
People on the street shouted up to others inside a partially toppled apartment building, leaning dangerously. The massive earthquake which was felt as far away as Cairo was centered north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 90 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake.
