Hundreds Dead, Several Injured As 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Turkey, Syria

Southeast Turkey and Syria was hit by an earthquake early on Monday. The US Geological Survey said it was 7.8 magnitude.

Turkey's Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management said that the areas of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis, were the worst hit.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, in a series of tweets, that rescue teams were rushed to the affected areas.

BBC reported Syrian state media as saying more than 230 people had died.

Associated Press reported the total number of deaths in both countries to be at least 568.

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