A severe blow to Turkey and Syria; a cruel repetition of 1999

ISTANBUL: More than 2300 lives were lost in the sudden bolt of an earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. In Turkey, 1500 people were declared dead while in Syria the number went to 800.

The deadly earthquake shocked the senses of the natives and dreadfully enough, many fear that people are still trapped down these fallen buildings. The first earthquake struck at 6:47 am IST. Turkey and Syria made fervent appeals to rush aid.

As per first estimates, 5,383 people were injured in Turkey and 1,000 in Syria. Most of the victims were in their sleep. This is why the death toll is so high.

There were at least 40 aftershocks within 2 hours. The second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale struck at 3.54 pm Indian time. The quake was also felt in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus. The second earthquake threw the rescue operation into disarray. In Syria, 800 people died in government and rebel-held areas.

One of the largest earthquakes to hit Turkey in more than a century, it caused vibrations throughout the area, collapsed buildings, and forced people to flee into the streets.

Turkey is often touted as a country more prone than any other in the world to earthquakes. In 1999 a similar fate encountered Ankara in the form of a tremblor that saw nearly 17000 losing their lives. Tremors were also recorded thousands of kilometres away in Greenland.

India has assured a helping hand to these tremor-stricken countries with prime minister Narendra Modi condoling the deaths that happened due to the sudden tremblor.

Hundreds of buildings collapsed

Hundreds of buildings collapsed within minutes. It is not clear how many people are trapped in the ruins. The historic Gaziantep Castle in the city of Gaziantep was also destroyed in the earthquakes.