An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Turkey and Syria had killed over 1,200 people and nearly 3,000 injured.
The authorities said that the earthquake struck a wide area near the two countries’ border, local media reported.
New York Times gave an update on Monday that millions of people in the two affected countries including Lebanon and Israel were jolted from their beds.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Health Ministry earlier said 237 casualties have been reported so far from the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Tartus and Latakia.
Turkey also registered the majority number of injured at 2,323, while Syria has reported 639.
The powerful quake that occurred at 4.17 am. at a depth of 17.9 km near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, was felt in Lebanon and Cyprus as well.
In a statement to the media, Turkish Interior Minister Suleymon Soylu said the 10 cities of Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis were affected.
While in Malatya province, north-east of Gaziantep, at least 23 people were killed, in Sanliurfa, to the east, there were 17 deaths, the Minister said, adding that the rest of the fatalities were reported in Diyarbakir and Osmaniye.
On his part, Syria’s Deputy Minister of Health Ahmad Damiriyeh said that general emergency plans have been employed to offer for the affected areas and that private hospitals have been ordered to receive all injured cases, reports Xinhua news agency.
