Türkiye quake: President declares 7-day national mourning 

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced to observe seven days of national mourning after deadly earthquakes hit several southern provinces.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned to Twitter and wrote: “Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our country and foreign representations”.

6 Şubat 2023 tarihinde ülkemizde meydana gelen depremler sebebiyle yedi gün süreyle millî yas ilan edilmiştir. Bütün yurtta ve dış temsilciliklerimizde 12 Şubat 2023 Pazar günü güneşin batışına kadar bayrağımız yarıya çekilecektir. pic.twitter.com/WsXvTpyr6y

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023

Earlier on Monday morning, a powerful earthquake has hit Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.

The death toll from earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria has risen to over 4300, as the rescue and recovery operations are underway despite freezing weather.

Rescue teams continued to search for survivors among the rubble of thousands of toppled buildings.

Turkish and Syrian disaster response teams said more than 5,600 buildings were flattened including many multi-storey apartments where residents were asleep as the quake struck.

World leaders have pledged to send aid after Turkiye issued an international appeal for help.

The initial earthquake was so large it was felt as far away as Greenland, and the impact is big enough to have sparked a global response.