The World Health Organization has warned that the death toll from a powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey, close to the border with Syria, could rise by a factor of eight. As of early Monday morning, the death toll had risen to over 3,400.
As reported by the US Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
The first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey, according to seismologists. According to those who made it out alive, the shaking stopped after two minutes. The epicenter of the second quake, which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, was located in the Elbistan neighborhood of Kahramanmaras province.