At least 90 people including 42 in Syria were killed in a strong earthquake that hit Turkey this morning, international media reports said.
In Malatya province, north-east of Gaziantep, at least 23 people were killed, local officials said. In Sanliurfa, to the east, there were 17 deaths. And six deaths were reported in Diyarbakir and five in Osmaniye, according to the news reports.
The Syrian news agency said 42 people died on the border with Syria, 42 others sustained injuries and at least 140 buildings have collapsed when a powerful earthquake rocked Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleymon Soylu said 10 cities --Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis – have been affected.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
The quake was felt in the capital Ankara and other Turkish cities, and also across the wider region. A number of buildings have collapsed, and some people may be trapped. According to the BBC news report, the tremor lasted for about 45 seconds.
Turkish seismologists estimated the strength of the quake to be 7.4 magnitude. They said that a second tremor hit the region just minutes later. (With inputs from Agencies)
