Quake topples buildings in Turkey, Syria
ANKARA, Turkey — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early today, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. At least 138 were killed, and the toll was expected to rise.
Rescue workers and residents frantically searched 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 quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centered north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 60 miles from the Syrian border.
On the Syrian side of the border, the quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some 4 million Syrians displaced from other parts of the country by the long civil war. Many of them live in decrepit conditions with little health care. At least 11 were killed in one town, Atmeh, and many more were buried in the rubble, a doctor in the town, Muheeb Qaddour, told The Associated Press by telephone.
“We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Qaddour said, referring to the rebel-held northwest. “We are under extreme pressure.”
On the Turkish side, the area has several large cities and is home to millions of Syrian refugees.
Tallies from various officials put the toll at at least 38 dead in Turkey and 62 in Syria.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. It was centered 11 miles deep, and a strong 6.7 aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later.