Death toll rises as powerful quake topples homes in Turkey, Syria

• At least 100 people were killed, with the death toll anticipated to grow.
• There were at least six aftershocks.
• At least 11 casualties are being reported at the Syrian border.

ANKARA, Turkey — A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and driving scared inhabitants outside into the chilly winter night. At least 100 people were killed, with the death toll anticipated to grow.

In various locations on both sides of the border, rescue personnel and people desperately searched for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Hundreds of people removed chunks of concrete and twisted metal from a quake-stricken Turkish city. People on the street called out to those inside a half-collapsed apartment building that was tilting precariously.

The tremor, which was felt as far away as Cairo, was centered north of Gaziantep, around 90 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border.

On the Syrian side of the border, the quake destroyed opposition-held areas teeming with 4 million Syrians displaced by the country’s lengthy civil war. Many of them live in deplorable conditions with inadequate health care. At least 11 people were killed in one village, Atmeh, and many more were buried under the wreckage, according to Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor there.

“We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Qaddour said, referring to the rebel-held northwest. “We are under extreme pressure.”

On the Turkish side, the area has several large cities and is home to millions of Syrian refugees.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake.

“We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” he wrote.

There were at least six aftershocks, and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu warned residents not to enter damaged houses because of the dangers.

“Our priority is to get individuals trapped under collapsed structures out and into hospitals,” he said.

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