ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 1,651 people were killed and 11,119 others injured with 3,471 buildings damaged in Türkiye after strong earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye and northern Syria on Monday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT). It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in the Kahramanmaras Province.
Rescue teams from the Turkish Red Crescent and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) were dispatched to the earthquake zone, while the Turkish forces, search and rescue volunteers, and the rescue teams of several local administrations also participated in the efforts.
Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Türkiye since the magnitude-7.9 tremor in eastern Erzincan Province that killed 33,000 people in 1939.
