New deadly earthquakes in Turkey trapped people under rubble

• Tremors 6.4 and 5.8 struck the southeast near the Syrian border.
• Buildings in both countries collapsed on Monday as a result of the shocks.
• Previous earthquakes in Turkey and Syria killed 46,000 people.

Rescuers are hunting for individuals buried beneath rubble in Turkey once more after two additional earthquakes struck the country, killing at least three people.

Tremors 6.4 and 5.8 struck the southeast near the Syrian border, where major quakes damaged both nations on February 6.

Previous earthquakes in Turkey and Syria killed 46,000 people and displaced tens of thousands more.

Buildings in both countries collapsed on Monday as a result of the shocks.

The 6.4 tremors struck at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT), followed by the 5.8 quakes three minutes later, according to Turkey’s disaster and emergency department.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said the three deaths occurred in Antakya, Defne, and Samandag, and urged residents not to visit potentially risky buildings.

Mr. Soylu said 213 people had also been injured.

Reports from the city of Antakya spoke of fear and panic in the streets as ambulances and rescue crews tried to reach the worst affected areas where the walls of badly damaged buildings had collapsed.

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” local resident Muna al-Omar told Reuters news agency, crying as she held her seven-year-old son. She had been in a tent in a park in the city center when the new earthquakes hit.

470 injured persons are alleged to have visited hospitals in Syria following Monday’s quakes, which were also felt in Egypt and Lebanon.

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