A major 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey causing 53 dead on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, levelling buildings across several cities and causing damage in neighbouring Syria, reports Aljazeera.
The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), the US agency said, with a 6.7-magnitude aftershock striking 15 minutes later.
Turkey's AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake's magnitude at 7.4.
Officials said 23 people died in the province of Malatya, 17 in Sanliurfa, seven in Osmaniye, and six in Diyarbakir.
They said the toll could climb much higher because of the heavy damage.
Images on Turkish television and social media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep.
“I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.
"We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage."
The earthquake's timing meant that most people were still sleeping at home, raising the potential toll.
Some images showed shocked people standing in the snow in their pajamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.
NTV television said buildings also crumbed in the cities of Adiyaman and Malatya.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
