At least 360 people were killed, hundreds injured after a powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday morning, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operation is underway.
The major quake was felt in Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria, collapsing dozens of buildings and triggering a search for survivors under the rubble in snowy streets.
The U.S. Geological Survey said quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. It was about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the town of Nurdagi.
The major quake was centered 18 kilometers (11 miles) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A strong 6.7 temblor rumbled about 10 minutes later.
Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. Duzce was one of the regions hit by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 — the worst to hit Turkey in decades. That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.