Death toll in Turkey and Syria quakes rises past 2,300

By AFP 6 February 2023, 5:20 pm

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A man carries the body of an earthquake victim in the Besnia village near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

The most powerful earthquake to strike Turkey and Syria in nearly a century has killed over 2,300 people, officials say as the toll continues to rise.

At least 810 people died in Syria, state media and medical sources say, while Turkish officials report another 1,498 fatalities.

The 7.8-magnitude early morning quake, followed by dozens of aftershocks, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who fled Syria’s civil war and other conflicts.