Turkey, Syria earthquake highlights: Death toll surpasses 7,000-mark amid search for more survivors

Rescue operation at a damaged building, following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Turkey-Syria Earthquake highlights: Rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria reached over 7,000. Since the first 7.8 magnitude quake, the region has seen five major temblors that have toppled entire apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands more people injured or homeless.

As rescue operations continued, freezing winter weather hampered search efforts for survivors through the night. Temperatures fell close to freezing overnight, worsening conditions for people trapped under rubble or left homeless, news agency Reuters reported. 

The earthquake on Monday in Turkey and Syria was the biggest recorded worldwide by the US Geological Survey since a tremor in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.