Devastating earthquake in Turkey; The dead are being counted

Devastating earthquake in Turkey; The dead are being counted

The German Geological Research Center said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaraº, while the EMSC said it was assessing the possibility of a tsunami risk.

In Syria alone, 42 bodies were found, the Syrian state news agency reported. It is feared that the number of victims in both Turkey and Syria could be much higher because the earthquake caught most people asleep.

According to the American Seismological Institute USGS, the catastrophic earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred at 04:17 local time.

"All our teams are on alert. We have issued a fourth-level alert... This is also a call for international help," said Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

"At this moment, we cannot say anything accurate about the damage and loss of human lives," he said, adding that there are victims and that 22 aftershocks have already occurred. The governor of Gaziantep province Davut Gül called on residents to gather outside.

Syrian state television reported that a building near Latakia, on Syria's west coast, collapsed after the earthquake. Pro-government media reported that several buildings partially collapsed in Hama, in central Syria.

Civil protection and Syrian firefighters are working to pull victims from the rubble.

Turkish President has been informed about the earthquake, the Turkish Presidency announced.

USA: We are ready to help

The United States is "profoundly concerned" by reports of the disaster, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. The U.S. President has directed the country's agency for international development to assess how it can help.

"The U.S. is profoundly concerned by today’s destructive earthquake in Turkiye & Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye", Sullivan said.

Numerous buildings collapsed, evacuation of people in progress

Numerous buildings were demolished. The most difficult situation is on the border with Syria and in Syria, where the operation to rescue people from collapsed buildings is underway.

Italian authorities warned of a tsunami