A third earthquake struck Turkey early Tuesday morning, a day after two others rocked the country and its neighbor Syria, killing at least 4,800 people and burying dozens more beneath the wreckage of collapsing structures.
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey at a depth of 1.9 kilometers, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), as rescue attempts continued in both nations as dawn broke and the dead toll in Turkey alone surpassed 3,300.
A winter storm causing near-freezing temperatures has hindered those desperately attempting to release victims from the wreckage of collapsed buildings, with the weather making it much more critical to find trapped survivors.
In the severely damaged Turkish city of Hatay, citizens cried out helplessly as the screams and cries of those trapped beneath the wreckage filled the air.
In a desperate attempt to reach them in time, rescuers have dug with their bare hands.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed on both sides of the border, triggering a huge humanitarian crisis in an area already devastated by the years-long Syrian civil conflict. Tens of thousands have been rendered homeless and are sleeping in their cars or hunting for temporary housing.
A massive worldwide response will be necessary to combat the disaster. Multiple international rescue operations have been dispatched to Turkey and Syria in response to their respective calls for assistance.
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»Turkey-Syria earthquake: Early morning earthquake hits Turkey, death toll nears 5,000«