Earthquake death toll in Turkey rises to 43,556, says minister

Soylu told state broadcaster TRT Haber that there had been 7,930 aftershocks following the first quake on February 6.

The number of people killed in Turkey in this month's devastating earthquakes has risen to 43,556, the country's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said overnight.

A crane demolishing a damaged building thought to contain several trapped animals and a helicopter flying in the background, in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey. (AFP)

Soylu told state broadcaster TRT Haber that there had been 7,930 aftershocks following the first quake on Feb. 6 and that more than 600,000 apartments and 150,000 commercial premises had suffered at least moderate damage.