Heartbreaking visuals are emerging from Turkey and Syria after the region was hit by a series of earthquakes on Monday that left thousands dead and thousands of others injured as apartments were seen collapsing like a pack of cards. One touching video from Syria shows a man crying inconsolably as he held the body of his infant who was killed in the earthquake.
The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by another measuring 7.6 magnitude quake, has so far killed more than 4,400 people, as of Tuesday morning, while several others remain trapped under the rubble as rescue workers were seen struggling to evacuate the survivors and injured.
Heartbreaking Moment
As disturbing visuals come out of Turkey and Syria, a heartbreaking video has emerged from social media that shows a man crying inconsolably holding the body of his child who was killed in the earthquake.
The man is seen tightly clutching the body of his child, wrapped in blankets. The father is wearing a grey hoodie as he is seen constantly kissing the forehead of his dead child, who presumably died in his sleep.
People around him are seen trying to console the man but they are unable to move him.
This comes as another 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the central Turkey region on Tuesday, hours after three powerful earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria.
So far more than 4.300 people have been confirmed dead. Thousands more are injured, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Supplies and rescue teams are being sent in from other nations.
It is anticipated that the death toll will rise as rescue teams comb through the rubble. The first epicenter of the earthquake was close to Nurdagi in the province of Gaziantep, which borders Syria.
The two further quakes struck close to the region of Kahramanmaraş. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has announced seven days of national mourning.
Rescue Operations Continue
According to a representative for the European Commission, more than 10 search and rescue teams from the EU have been activated since the earthquake. Other countries that have offered assistance include the US, UK, Canada, Israel, Russia, India and China.
In addition, there have been calls for the international community to loosen some of the political restrictions on aid entering northwestern Syria, the last rebel-held region of the country and one of the earthquake's hardest-hit regions.
The first earthquake, which occurred while people were sleeping and had a magnitude of 7.8, was one of the strongest ones to hit the area in at least a century. Tremors were felt as far away as Cairo and Cyprus.
The second powerful earthquake, which measured 7.7 magnitude was located 42 miles northeast of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, at a depth of 2,000 meters, according to preliminary data from the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). Seismologists have recorded over a hundred minor aftershocks.
Fears that the earthquakes may have harmed additional ancient structures in Turkey and Syria, two countries with a rich cultural legacy, grew after a Roman-era castle in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, close to where the first quake had its epicenter, was partially destroyed.
