Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: the terrible images of the damage which left more than 1,200 dead

The damage is considerable.

At least 1,200 people died in Turkey and Syria after a violent earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, located about 17 km deep in the district of Pazarcik, north of Gaziantep.

Rescue operations are underway to try to help the survivors.

The various assessments of the authorities also estimate the number of injured at more than 6,000, while buildings collapsed several hours after the earthquake.

Read alsoEarthquake in Turkey and Syria: what we know about the earthquake that killed at least 1,200 people

“Tonight at 4:17 a.m. we were rocked by the biggest disaster since the Erzincan earthquake of 1939 that we experienced in the last century.

So far, 912 of our citizens have lost their lives and 5,385 of our citizens have been injured.

2,818 buildings were destroyed.

2,470 people were extricated from the rubble,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, quoted by public television TRT.

About fifty aftershocks have already been recorded in Turkey.

The governor of Gaziantep province called on residents to gather outside despite the cold, while the head of Diyanet, the Turkish public body responsible for supervising worship, called on Turks in need to find refuge in the mosques.

1. Rescue teams search for survivors under rubble in Aleppo

AFP AFP or licensors

2. A man crying amid the debris in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey

ILYAS AKENGIN / AFP AFP or licensors

3. Even cars were hit, victims of falling debris, in Azaz, Syria, a town held by rebels

REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

4. In Jandaris, Syria, this building was totally destroyed

REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

5. Survivors themselves search for survivors in the rubble of a building in Azmarin, a Syrian town near the Turkish border

OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP AFP or licensors

6. In several cities in Turkey, the emergency services are hard at work trying to find survivors, helped by the population, as in Adana

Ihlas News Agency (IHA) via REUTERS

7. A man can only see the damage, facing the rubble of a building in Sarmada, in the Syrian province of Idlib

Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP AFP or licensors

8. The "White Helmets", Syrian civilian relief, are busy in Idlib to clear the rubble

White Helmets/via REUTERS

9. Police dog squads have been dispatched to try to find survivors in the Turkish city of Adana

REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan

Many countries have already announced that they will send relief and humanitarian aid to Turkey.

The European Union must send teams, help from the Netherlands and Romania is already on the way.

Israel and Russia also offered their support.