Death toll soars past 1,300 after major earthquake rocks Syria and Turkey

At least 912 people died in Turkey from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck early Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, sharply revising up earlier figures.

With at least 326 people also dying in government-controlled parts of Syria, this puts death toll of the region’s most powerful tremor in nearly a century at more than 1,300.

Erdogan said it was the country’s largest disaster since 1939, adding that 2,818 buildings collapsed as a result. 

A strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, killing more than 1,300, injuring thousands more and setting off a frantic search for survivors trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The temblor struck before dawn on a rainy, snowy night.

It was felt as far away as Cairo, Cyprus and Lebanon.

There have been at least 20 aftershocks, one a magnitude 6.6, Turkish authorities said.

The quake shook a region torn by the civil war in Syria, which has lasted more than a decade.

The area affected in Syria is divided between government and opposition forces. Turkey hosts millions of refugees from the war.

Many nations immediately offered assistance, including the United States, Germany, France, Greece and Ukraine.

--Agencies