Turkey earthquake death toll climbs to near 3,400

ISTANBUL - The death toll in Turkey due to a powerful earthquake on Monday has risen to 3,381, an official from the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Tuesday.

The official, Orhan Tatar, told a media briefing that 20,426 people had been injured and 5,775 buildings destroyed in the tremor, which had been followed by 285 aftershocks. 

An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck eastern Turkey on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was at a depth of 46 km (28.58 miles), the centre added. 

A frantic race was underway to find more survivors and help the injured.

The death toll is likely to climb as freezing weather and multiple aftershocks are hurting the rescue efforts despite international assistance.

Turkey has deployed more than 24,400 search and rescue personnel to the quake area.

The number was expected to rise with the arrival of additional personnel though the wintry conditions were hampering their deployment, disaster management agency official Orhan Tatar said.

“The adverse weather conditions continue in the region. Therefore, from time to time it may be difficult to transport these search and rescue teams to the region,” he said.

Temperatures overnight in the quake-hit city of Gaziantep sank to -5 C (23 F).

Tatar said 10 ships were helping the rescue efforts, by transporting the wounded to hospitals, mainly from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun.

About 55 helicopters had conducted 154 sorties to transport emergency aid and around 85 trucks were distributing food, he said.

Tatar said his agency had received 11,342 reports of collapsed buildings, but only 5,775 of those reports have been confirmed.