Turkey Syria earthquake: Rescuers search for survivors after quake kills 4,800

The death toll surged past 4,000 as rescuers in Turkey and Syria worked overnight to find more survivors of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the region early on Monday.

Survivors cried out for help from within mountains of debris as first responders contended with rain and snow.

Seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another jolt nearly as powerful as the initial quake, with workers carefully pulling away slabs of concrete and reaching for bodies as desperate families waited for news of loved ones.

The World Health Organization has warned the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers find more victims.

White Helmet Syrian rescue workers use an excavator to search amidst the rubble of collapsed building on February 6, 2022 in the town of Sarmada, in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, as a search operation continues following a deadly earthquake. - At least 1,400 people were killed and 3,411 injured across Syria today in an earthquake that had its epicentre in southwestern Turkey, the government and rescuers said. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

“My grandson is 1 1/2 years old. Please help them, please… They were on the 12th floor,” Imran Bahur wept by her destroyed apartment building in the Turkish city of Adana on Monday.

Tens of thousands who were left homeless in Turkey and Syria faced a night in the cold.

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 20 miles from the epicentre, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning.

As aftershocks continue, rescuers in some areas have been digging through rubble with their bare hands looking for survivors.

But freezing conditions are hampering search efforts.

In the Turkish city of Osmaniye, near the epicentre, pouring rain hampered rescuers as they searched through the rubble looking for survivors.

US President Joe Biden called Mr Erdogan to express condolences and offer assistance to the Nato ally, with the White House adding it was sending search-and-rescue teams to support Turkey’s efforts.

The quake, which was centered in Turkey’s south-eastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.