6.4 magnitude aftershock in Turkey traps more people under rubble, killing at least 3

A magnitude 6.4 struck the Turkey-Syria border region on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. At least three people have died and over 200 were injured, according to Turkish officials. The quake hit near Defne in the district of Samandag but it was felt as far as Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. "We had just arrived in Gaziantep when we felt the tremor. Our car started shaking — for about 10 seconds. We immediately thought it was an earthquake because we use an alert app. And then we saw people had run out of buildings here in the city center," DW correspondent Julia Hahn said from the scene. "That's when we knew it was a powerful one." The initial quake was followed by a second, magnitude 5.8 tremor.

Lutfu Savas, the mayor for Hatay said a number of buildings have collapsed, trapping people who had either returned to homes or were trying to move furniture from damaged homes. Abdel Kafi, a Syrian activist in north-west Syria said, "It was strong like the first one but did not last long... it scared people and people rushed to the streets." The event triggered panic and a stampede in Syria, with some people jumping from buildings, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It comes two weeks after two major earthquakes devastated the same region and left at least 47,000 dead. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said more than 6,000 aftershocks had been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6.