Quake launches frantic search in Turkey, Syria

Thousands dead as rescuers race against time to find survivors

The death toll surged to 3,400 and continued rising Monday after a powerful, predawn earthquake and series of strong aftershocks collapsed thousands of buildings along the Turkish- Syrian border.

The U. S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at 4: 17 a. m. local time in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, about 20 miles from the city of Gaziantep. Scores of aftershocks followed, authorities said. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude quake struck more than 60 miles away.

Turkish authorities said more than 2,300 people have died. In Syria, the government has reported 656 deaths in areas it controls, and organizations in opposition- held areas have estimated another 450.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at least 11,000 people were injured. He declared seven days of national mourning.

An untold number were believed trapped under the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings, and the injury and death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers dug through the wreckage. Thousands of survivors were left homeless in the cold rain and snow.

There were also stories of rescues as first responders and volunteers, some with detection dogs, picked through the rubble. The Turkish defense ministry released a video of a mother and her 2year- old child being extricated safely from rubble in the city of Gaziantep.

“Hurry up please because my daughter is passing out,” the woman says as rescuers work feverishly to save them. The young girl is rescued first, and responders assure the woman that “your child has been rescued, she is alive.” Developments:

● The British Premier League soccer team Newcastle United FC tweeted that it was “praying for some positive news” on the fate of former teammate Christian Atsu, who was reportedly among those trapped under the rubble in Kahramanmaras.

● Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country “stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Turkey.”

● Erdogan called the quake the country’s biggest disaster since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake that killed more than 30,000.

● Russia said it was preparing rescue teams to fly to Turkey to help victims there and in neighboring Syria.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Residents and workers with heavy equipment search flattened buildings for survivors in Besnia, Syria, near the Turkish border Monday after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 4: 17 a. m. local time.

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