Turkey earthquake: Death toll hits 3,381

The confirmed death toll in Turkey following a devastating earthquake which occured in the Syrian-Turkish border region has risen to 3,381.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, AFAD, stated that more than 20,000 people were injured.

The authority added that over 5,700 buildings were reported to have collapsed.

Weather conditions were also very bad in the region, said Orhan Tatar, head of the earthquake and risk reduction department.

According to him, the bad weather included heavy snowfall, downpours and strong winds in the affected regions.

Temperatures are around freezing point in some places.

The powerful earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.7, struck south-east Turkey in the border region with Syria early on Monday morning.

It was followed at about noon by another quake with a magnitude of 7.5.

AFAD said there had been 285 aftershocks.