In the wee hours of Monday (6 February), a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria. Around nine hours later, another 7.5-magnitude quake followed, in addition to multiple aftershocks.
While thousands scramble to seek shelter, the death toll rises to 11,000.
Pictures and videos from Turkey and Syria have been surfacing since the quake, standing as evidence of how fatal the calamity was.
Take a look:
UN representative Mohamad Safa shared this moving picture of a 7-year-old girl trying her best to protect her younger brother. After being stuck under rubble for more than seventeen hours, the siblings were able to be rescued.
In another tear-jerking picture making the rounds on social media, a man - Mesut Hancer - can be seen crouching in the rubble. He’s photographed holding the hand of Irmak, his fifteen-year-old daughter who lost her life, trapped beneath a slab of concrete and a mattress in the remains of an apartment block.
Another video going viral and making headlines shows a young Turkish girl being rescued by military forces in Jenderes, north of Aleppo in Syria. After being pulled out from under the debris, she can be seen breaking down into tears.
A video showing a displaced child being rescued by the forces is also doing the rounds. The child, Ahmed, lost his family to the quake once it hit Qatma, a Syrian village north of Aleppo
In another petrifying account, a Syrian earthquake victim went into labor amidst the quake. Although the military was able to rescue the newborn, the woman was unable to survive. The baby girl was pulled out of the rubble, with her umbilical cord intact.
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