BEIRUT (Reuters) – A powerful earthquake killed dozens and injured hundreds in northern and western Syria early on Monday, state media said, as rescue teams battled heavy rain and sleet in a search for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
More than 100 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the Syrian regions of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, state news agency (SANA) said, in an earthquake that also shook southern Turkey, killing at least 76 there.
Syrian civil defence in rebel-held northwestern Idlib said the quake killed tens of people and injured hundreds in the areas where it operates.
“No official numbers yet … but dozens reported dead and hundreds injured, many trapped under the rubble,” the force, known as the White Helmets, said in a Twitter message.
Many buildings in the affected areas had already suffered damage in fighting during Syria’s nearly 12-year-long civil war.
A video clip posted on the White Helmets’ Twitter page shows images of a rubble-strewn street, with the poster saying homes were “totally destroyed”.
He added, “The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin and there is no electricity at all,” referring to a city that is about 5 km (3 miles) distant from Turkey’s southern border.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Kinda Makieh; Writing by Clauda Tanios and Timour Azhari; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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