Powerful quake kills hundreds in Turkey and Syria

People search a collapsed building following an earthquake in Syria, on February 6.
People search a collapsed building following an earthquake in Syria, on February 6. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

More than 500 people have been killed in two countries after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey early Monday.

At least 284 people have died and more than 2,300 were injured in Turkey, according to the country’s Vice President Fuat Oktay. 

In Syria, at least 237 people were killed and 639 injured, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported, citing a Health Ministry official. 

The total death toll across Turkey and Syria is now at least 521. 

The quake is one of the strongest to hit Turkey in more than 100 years and sent tremors across the region, collapsing buildings and sending residents running into the streets.

More than 1,700 buildings were damaged across 10 Turkish cities, the Turkish vice president said. 

source: cnn.com