PARIS - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday expressed concerns over damage to Syrian and Turkish heritage sites, and vowed support for the two earthquake-devastated countries.

Following an initial survey of damage to heritage carried out alongside national authorities, UNESCO said: "In Syria, UNESCO is particularly concerned about the situation in the Ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the List of World Heritage in Danger."

Significant damage had been noted in the citadel, UNESCO said. The western tower of the old city wall had collapsed, and several buildings in the souks had been weakened. Meanwhile, in Turkiye, several buildings in the city of Diyarbakir have collapsed.

The city is home to the World Heritage site "Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape", an important center for the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods.

UNESCO's experts, with the cooperation of national authorities, are trying to establish a precise inventory of the damage to sites on the World Heritage List.

"My condolences go out to the families and loved ones of those who died. My thoughts are also with the injured and all those affected. Our Organization will provide assistance within its mandate," said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's Director-General.

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT) on Monday, followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep, and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time (1024 GMT) in Kahramanmaras.

The death toll in Turkiye climbed to 5,434 on Tuesday, while the number of people injured rose to 31,777, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

According to figures released by the Syrian Health Ministry on Tuesday, 812 people were killed and 1,449 others injured in Hama, Aleppo, Latakia, and Tartous provinces, and the rebel-held area in Idlib province.

A Chinese rescue team departed from Beijing for Turkiye on a chartered plane on Tuesday afternoon, to join earthquake relief efforts in the country.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed more than 7000 people in Turkiye and Syria. Seismologists say it is likely to have been one of the deadliest quakes this decade. But why? It happened at shallow depth. There were several significant aftershocks, and cold winter weather could make it harder for people trapped under rubble to survive.

Video by Han Jing.

Governments and organizations around the world are sending aid to Turkiye and Syria after the two countries suffered two devastating earthquakes that have killed more than 7,200 people.

Video by Brian Chang.

Quake: Nation sends rescue team to Turkiye

As the death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria continues to rise, rescue teams and aid materials from China and other nations are arriving in the quake-hit areas to help the two countries deal with the challenging humanitarian relief effort.

The support is arriving as a frantic race against time takes place in near-freezing temperatures to pull survivors from the rubble after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake caused devastation in Turkiye and neighboring Syria at 4:17 am local time on Monday and was followed by a magnitude-7.5 quake at 1:24 pm and hundreds of aftershocks.

The total number of deaths in the two countries had exceeded 5,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

China's assistance is coming in a number of ways, including sending a first tranche of 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) in emergency aid to Turkiye, said Deng Boqing, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, on Tuesday.

A medical team will be sent to Turkiye as quickly as possible, and disaster relief supplies urgently needed by the country will also be provided, Deng added.

"We are also coordinating the work to provide disaster relief materials urgently needed in Syria, and accelerating the implementation of an ongoing food aid program in the country," he said.

The Chinese government will continue to provide assistance to Turkiye and Syria according to the development of the situation and the two nations' needs, Deng said.

The Red Cross Society of China will send its sister organizations in Turkiye and Syria $200,000 each to help with disaster relief and rescue operations, while Chinese communities in the two nations are collecting relief supplies such as tents and blankets.

At the request of the Turkish government, China has sent its official rescue team to the country, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. The 82-member team left Beijing Capital International Airport for Turkiye at around 4 pm on Tuesday.

A civilian rescue NGO from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has sent a team of eight experts who are highly experienced in international rescue missions.

The Zhejiang Rescue Team of Ramunion is expected to arrive in the affected areas of Turkiye on Wednesday afternoon, according to a media release issued on Tuesday.

The rescuers, equipped with life detectors, tools for dismantling operations and a rescue dog, will head to the worst-hit locations, the release said.

The rescue team said its overseas operation got approval from Chinese authorities and the Turkish consulate-general in Shanghai, adding that it initiated an international emergency response early on Monday at its headquarters in Hangzhou.

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay as saying that severe weather is making it difficult to bring aid to the affected regions.

In the Turkish city of Antakya near the Syrian border, where 10-story buildings had crumbled onto the streets, Reuters journalists saw rescuers at work in one of the dozens of mounds of rubble.

The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down, and there was no electricity or fuel in the city, it said.

Earlier media reports said tremors affected some 13.5 million people in the country.

The European Union has mobilized search and rescue teams to help Turkiye, and the United States is coordinating assistance to the country, including teams to support search and rescue efforts. The Israeli army also sent a search and rescue team of 150 engineers, medical personnel and aid workers to Turkiye.

Russia has sent rescue teams to Syria, and Russian military forces in Syria sent 300 personnel to help with search and rescue work.

India and South Korea were also among the long and growing list of nations to send rescuers and supplies to Turkiye and Syria.

India will send a rescue team of 100 from its National Disaster Response Force, as well as specially trained dog squads and equipment to Turkiye, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

South Korea said it will offer $5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to Turkiye. A total of 110 workers will be sent to support search and rescue operations, and medical supplies will be offered, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

After the earthquake, Chinese embassies and consulates in Turkiye and Syria immediately activated their emergency response mechanisms to comprehensively verify the security situation of Chinese compatriots, Chinese-funded institutions and personnel, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday.

"So far, no Chinese casualties have been reported," Mao said at a daily news briefing, adding that China will continue to remind its citizens in the two countries to guard against post-earthquake secondary disasters.

Wang Qingyun, Wang Xiaoyu, Zhao Jia, Zou Shuo and agencies contributed to this story.

ANKARA - Rescuers in quake-hit Turkiye are beating the clock and battling heavy rain to save survivors from rubbles on Tuesday, as more than 24 hours have passed since massive earthquakes wreaked havoc in the country's southeast.

The death toll from Monday's powerful earthquakes in southern Turkiye rose to 3,549, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upon declaring that a three-month state of emergency is enacted in 10 affected provinces.

Meanwhile, the number of wounded people stood at 21,103, Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said in an update.

Two major earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes hit the province of Kahramanmaras Monday. At least 78 aftershocks were recorded, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has said.

Turkish NTV broadcaster warned that the toll could rise dramatically as foul weather hampered the rescuers in the south while increasing the risk of hypothermia among those who remained under the rubble overnight.

News footage from NTV showed dozens of rescuers and volunteers searching through the ruins of multi-story apartment blocks through the night under the snow in the southeastern Diyarbakir province.

Mosques, gymnasiums, and schools were opened for people who might need to take shelter. However, power aftershocks have kept many people from staying indoors.

TV footage displayed people from Kahramanmaras spending the night in cars, some wrapped themselves in blankets to repel the freezing weather.

Turkish authorities have dispatched a total of 12,181 search and rescue workers to the quake zones, including 3,294 foreign emergency personnel sent by 14 countries, Oktay said on Tuesday.

The emergency operations are being hampered by a winter blizzard as the temperatures recorded as minus 10 degrees Celsius in most of the 10 affected provinces.

At least 5,775 buildings were damaged and more than 8,000 people have been pulled out of the rubbles, but the teams were also struggling with "extremely severe weather conditions," Oktay said.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT) on Monday, followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the nearby Gaziantep Province, and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time (1024 GMT) in the Kahramanmaras Province.

The quakes were also felt in Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus.

Turkiye's southern province of Hatay bordering Syria suffered the most loss of life in the earthquake with at least 872 casualties.

In Hatay, roads and an airport runway were ruptured and numerous buildings, including two hospitals, collapsed in the quake.

Hatay Mayor Lutfu Savas told Halk TV broadcaster that search and rescue teams could only arrive in the namesake city till Tuesday morning due to ruined roads and blocked transportation amid heavy snow.

He stressed that there was also a serious communication problem in the city.

The Port of Iskenderun district in Hatay continues to burn with massive flames after some containers started burning for an undetermined reason on Monday, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Firefighter efforts to control the flames continue, but locals still share images of dense black smoke rising from the port.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday declared seven days of national mourning for the victims.

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Turkiye since the magnitude 7.9 tremor in eastern Erzincan Province that killed 33,000 people in 1939.

In 1999, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck central and western Turkiye on Aug 17. Later on Nov 12, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck western Turkiye. The two earthquakes killed around 18,000 people, injured 43,000 others and left 600,000 people homeless.

Turkiye sits at the intersection of three major tectonic plates: the African plate, the Eurasian plate and the Arabian plate, and around 42 percent of its territory is situated in a seismically active region, which is why the country is so prone to earthquakes.

ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Tuesday a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces of Turkiye hit by massive quakes.

The decision is taken in order to ensure that search and rescue activities and subsequent studies can be carried out quickly, he said at a press conference.

Death tolls from Monday's powerful earthquakes in southern Turkiye rose to 3,549, Erdogan added.

A total of 53,317 search and rescue staff and support personnel are currently working in the earthquake zones, according to the president.

The casualties were in provinces of southern Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya and southeastern Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, and Gaziantep, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT) on Monday, followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time in the Kahramanmaras Province.

Erdogan on Monday declared seven days of national mourning for the victims.

ANKARA/DAMASCUS - Around 5,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured as of Tuesday noon after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Turkiye and neighboring Syria early Monday.

In Turkiye, the death toll has risen to 3,419, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said, adding that at least 20,534 people were injured. The devastating earthquakes destroyed 5,775 buildings, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning for the victims.

In neighboring Syria, more than 1,500 people died, and some 3,500 were injured in Syria, according to the Syrian health ministry and local authorities.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT) Monday, followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time (1024 GMT) Monday in the Kahramanmaras Province.

Many countries and global aid agencies are offering relief supplies to quake-hit regions.

"This is a moment when we must come together in solidarity, as one humanity, to save lives and alleviate the suffering of people who have already suffered so much," the World Health Organization tweeted Tuesday.

Deng Boqing, deputy head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said Tuesday that the country will provide the first batch of emergency aid worth 40 million yuan (about 5.89 million US dollars) to Turkiye. He added that China is coordinating efforts to provide relief supplies to Syria and speeding up the implementation of the ongoing food aid program.

Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Russia, France and other countries worldwide have also expressed their readiness to help Turkiye and Syria.

More than 100 Russian rescuers have arrived in Turkiye to assist in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Tuesday.

According to the French Foreign Ministry, France is sending emergency services personnel, who will be on their way within hours, in response to the Turkish request for international assistance. 

BEIJING - A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Turkiye near the Syrian border early Monday, causing mass casualties in both countries.

Turkiye sits at the intersection of three major tectonic plates: African plate, Eurasian plate and Indian Ocean plate, and around 42 percent of its territory is situated in a seismically active region, which is why the country is so prone to earthquakes.

Here's a look at the powerful earthquakes that hit Turkiye in recent years:

-- Oct 30, 2020: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the Aegean Sea off Turkiye's western province of Izmir, killing 116 people and injuring 994 others.

-- Jan 24, 2020: At least 20 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Turkiye's eastern province of Elazig.

-- Sept 26, 2019: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkiye's largest city Istanbul, injuring 34 people and damaging 474 buildings.

-- Nov 9, 2011: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook Van province in eastern Turkiye, causing 40 deaths, 30 injuries and damages to 25 buildings as of Nov 13.

-- Oct 23, 2011: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Van province in eastern Turkiye, killing more than 600 people, injuring over 4,000 others and causing varying degrees of damages to around 6,000 buildings.

-- March 8, 2010: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Elazig province in eastern Turkiye, killing 41 people.

-- May 1, 2003: A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit Turkiye's eastern province of Bingol, killing 176 people, injuring more than 600 and damaging nearly 1,200 buildings.

-- Aug 17, 1999: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck central and western Turkiye. On Nov. 12, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck western Turkiye. The two earthquakes killed around 18,000 people, injured 43,000 others, left 600,000 people homeless and caused economic damage of 20 billion US dollars. 

In response to a request from the Turkiye government, China has sent a rescue team to the country to participate in relief efforts after two strong earthquakes jolted parts of the nation and neighboring Syria early on Monday, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

The team, consisting of 82 people, departed Beijing Capital International Airport at around 4 pm on Tuesday. It was dispatched by the Ministry of Emergency Management and consists of specialists from the Beijing Fire and Rescue Administration, the National Earthquake Response Support Service and the Emergency General Hospital.

ADANA, Turkiye — The death toll from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks rose to more than 5,000 on Tuesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Turkiye's Vice-President Fuat Oktay said the total number of deaths in Turkiye had risen to 3,419, with another 20,534 people injured. That brought the number of people killed to 5,102, with another 1,602 people confirmed dead on the Syrian side of the border.

The earthquake struck early Monday morning, bringing down thousands of buildings. Rescuers were racing frantically to find more survivors but their efforts were being impeded by temperatures below freezing and some 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.

AP

BEIJING - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 jolted eastern Turkiye at 0711 GMT on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 6.829 km, was initially determined to be at 38.1162 degrees north latitude and 38.6693 degrees east longitude.

The Chinese government will provide Turkiye with its first batch of aid worth 40 million yuan ($5.9 million), Deng Boqing, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Tuesday.

The aid includes a heavy urban rescue team which is about to head off to Turkiye in a couple of hours, Deng said, adding that the government will send a medical team to Turkiye as soon as possible, and provide disaster-relief supplies the country urgently needs.

Turkiye and Syria were shaken by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks on Monday, which have killed more than 4,000 people so far.

The Chinese government is also coordinating efforts to provide supplies to Syria and accelerating the implementation of the ongoing food aid program, Deng said.

In another development, the Red Cross Society of China announced on Tuesday to provide $200,000 in cash to the Red Crescent Societies of Turkiye and Syria respectively.

Chinese communities in Turkiye and Syria are collecting tents, blankets and other disaster-relief supplies, and a Chinese non-government rescue team arrived in disaster-hit regions this morning, Deng said.

The Chinese government will continue to provide assistance within its capacity to Turkiye and Syria according to the development of the situation and the two countries' need, he said.

ANKARA/DAMASCUS - More than 4,000 people were killed and tens of thousands injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Turkiye and neighboring Syria early Monday, as rescue teams are battling harsh winter conditions to search for survivors.

In Turkiye, at least 2,921 people were killed and 15,834 others were injured in the earthquakes, the country's Anadolu agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

In neighboring Syria, at least 711 were killed and 1,431 injured in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartus, said the Syrian Health Ministry. Media reports also cited rescue workers as saying that 733 were killed and over 2,100 injuered in the rebel-held region in Syria.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT) on Monday, followed by at least 78 aftershocks. The quakes were also felt in Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus.

The Red Cross Society of China said that it will send the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent cash to help with disaster relief and rescue operations after strong earthquakes shook Turkiye and Syria on Monday.

Each organization will receive $200,000, the society said on Monday evening.

Chen Zhu, president of China's Red Cross, sent letters of sympathy to both groups after the temblors, which killed thousands of people.

China's Red Cross said that it will keep track of the conditions in the affected areas and will offer more humanitarian aid based on evolving needs.

Eight rescue experts from China's Zhejiang Rescue Team of Ramunion, a civilian rescue organization, have left for Turkiye after Monday's huge earthquakes jolted the country and its neighbor Syria and resulted in heavy casualties.

Carrying life detectors, tools for dismantling operations and a rescue dog, the team is expected to arrive at the affected area in Turkiye on Wednesday afternoon local time, the team said in a media release early on Tuesday.

All eight rescuers have rich experiences in international rescue operations, it said.

Established in 2008, the Ramunion rescue team has participated in 287 rescue missions, 16 of which were out of China.

ADANA, Turkiye — Rescuers in Turkiye and Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region.

Authorities feared the death toll from Monday's pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete.

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. Workers carefully pulled away slabs of concrete and reached for bodies as desperate families waited for news of loved ones.

"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 Turkiye and Syria faced a night in the cold. In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning.

AP/AFP

Turkive and Syria were hit by two earthquakes, with magnitudes over 7, on Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least 2,300 people.

Video by Brian Chang.

President Xi Jinping has extended messages of sympathy to the leaders of Turkiye and Syria after the two nations were hit by two powerful earthquakes. At least 2,300 people reportedly were killed and thousands injured in the quakes by press time.

In the messages to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Xi said he was shocked to learn that the quakes led to major casualties and losses in the two nations.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people, he expressed deep grief over the deaths and extended sincere sympathy to the families of the victims and to those who were injured.

Xi said he believes the two nations and their people, led by their respective presidents, will surely get through the disaster at an early date and rebuild their homes.

In a statement issued on Monday, the China International Development Cooperation Agency said it has been in communication with related departments in Turkiye and Syria and was ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance according to the needs of the disaster-stricken people.

The first quake, a magnitude 7.8 temblor, rocked southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria early on Monday. It hit near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkiye at 4:17 am local time at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake toppled hundreds of buildings, and hundreds of people were believed to be trapped beneath rubble. The toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of debris in cities and towns across the area.

More than 20 aftershocks followed, some occurring hours later during daylight, Turkish authorities said.

A second earthquake, at magnitude 7.5, hit southeast Turkiye at 1:24 pm on Monday, the USGS reported, adding that the quake hit at 1:24 pm, 4 km south-southeast of the town of Ekinozu and at a depth of about 10 km.

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

Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through rubble across city centers and residential neighborhoods of almost all the big cities running along the border with Syria.

Some of the heaviest devastation occurred near the first quake's epicenter between Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, where entire city blocks lay in ruins under the gathering snow.

Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said, "It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed."

The Turkish armed forces set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the zone affected by the quakes, the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Turkiye sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. In 1999, about 18,000 people were killed in powerful quakes that hit northwestern Turkiye.

Meanwhile, the European Union was sending rescue teams and preparing further help for Turkiye, the EU's crisis management commissioner said later on Monday.

"Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way," Commissioner Janez Lenarcic of the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre said on Twitter.

Several leaders in the EU pledged help, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Belgium, Poland, Spain and Finland also said they stood ready to deploy teams and offer help.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences on Monday to Turkiye and Syria, saying Moscow was ready to provide assistance.

Agencies contributed to this story.

BEIJING - China is closely following the situation surrounding the devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, and expresses its condolences to the victims of the disaster and sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Monday.

Spokeswoman Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily news briefing when answering a relevant question. She said China sincerely wishes people of the two countries an early victory over the disaster at an early date to reconstruct their homelands.

"After the earthquake, Chinese embassies and consulates in relevant countries quickly launched emergency response mechanisms to verify the situations of Chinese citizens affected by the disaster. So far, no Chinese casualties have been reported," the spokeswoman said.

She added that Chinese diplomatic missions in relevant countries will continue to follow closely the earthquake situation, and will continue to provide consular protection and assistance for Chinese citizens. 

BEIJING - China is willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in accordance with the needs of earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria, said Xu Wei, spokesman for the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

China expresses its sympathies and concerns over the casualties and property losses in Turkiye and Syria caused by the earthquake, Xu said. China is in communication with relevant government departments in the two countries.