More than 5,600 buildings in Turkey have been destroyed by yesterday’s powerful earthquake and aftershocks – as the long-running civil war in Syria complicates rescue efforts there.
At least 4,159 people have died across both countries – and officials fear that the number of fatalities will rise further.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened before dawn on Monday, when many people would have been sleeping.
And while rescuers have spent the night scouring rubble, bitterly cold weather could reduce the time they have to find survivors.
More than 7,800 people in Turkey have been rescued across 10 provinces so far – and crews from around the world have been making their way to the epicentre to help.
In Syria, the earthquake and subsequent tremors further weakened the foundations of buildings that have borne the brunt of shelling and airstrikes during a decade of unrest.
The latest figures suggest more than 13,000 in Turkey have been injured – and in the city of Iskenderun, there was an enormous pile of debris where an intensive care unit once stood.
“We have a patient who was taken into surgery but we don’t know what happened,” said Tulin, a woman in her 30s who was stood outside the hospital and wiping tears from her eyes.
This region is unable to cope with a disaster of this magnitude
Hundreds of rescue workers are still arriving in Turkey’s earthquake zone in the early hours.
Adana airport is awash with personnel – many of them volunteers – who have travelled from all over the country to try to help in what is fast turning into Turkey’s worst natural disaster in nearly a century.
Many have relatives or friends they’re still trying to reach in the multiple towns and villages affected.
I was with an Istanbul-based doctor this morning as she frantically tried to telephone colleagues in Hatay, believed to be one of the worst-affected areas and near the Syrian border.
“We can’t reach them,” she said. “We are really concerned.”
At least two hospitals are thought to have crumbled in Hatay as the earthquakes ripped through this area.
Worried people have been glued to television and radio reports and watched in horror as the number of fatalities rose with every hour.
Some 45 nations have already offered help. Turkey is going to need every last one of them.
Reaching those affected over the border in Syria is going to be exceedingly complicated.
Many living along the Turkish border have already been displaced multiple times already.
In a region so badly hit by war and poverty for more than a decade, this area is uniquely vulnerable and unable to cope with a disaster of this magnitude.
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0:58
‘A long night’ for volunteers after earthquake
Desperate scenes
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Tens of thousands have been left homeless across Turkey and Syria – and spent last night in the cold.
About 20 miles away from the epicentre of the earthquake in Gaziantep, people took refuge in shopping centres, mosques, stadiums and community centres.
In a rebel-held enclave of Syria, four million people were already displaced before the powerful tremors struck – and many live in buildings wrecked by military bombardments.
A mound of concrete and steel roads lay where a multi-storey building once stood in Aleppo, with a thin young man expressing fears that 12 families could be trapped.
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1:30
Flattened streets at earthquake’s epicentre
The Syrian White Helmets, a rescue service in rebel-held territory, said they were in a “race against time” to save the lives of all those under rubble.
Imran Bahur’s apartment building in the Turkish city of Adana was also destroyed. She said her 18-month-old grandson was on the 12th floor, and begged for help in rescuing him.
Search crews working in Diyarbakir, another Turkish city, occasionally raised their hands and called for quiet – listening for signs of life.
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3:10
War-torn Syria struggles after quake
Syria asks for help
Syria’s UN ambassador Bassam Sabbagh has requested help from the United Nations – receiving assurance that member states will do everything possible in this “very difficult situation”.
He went on to stress that the government is ready to help and coordinate aid deliveries “to all Syrians in all territories of Syria”.
But as well as harsh winter weather, damage to roads and fuel shortages have hampered the UN’s response to the earthquake there.
“The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people… but we are working hard,” UN resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told the Reuters news agency.
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2:52
Turkey-Syria earthquake explained
Erdogan declares seven days of national mourning
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to his US counterpart Joe Biden.
The White House said Mr Biden underscored “the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance” to Turkey – a NATO ally.
Two, 79-person urban search and rescue teams have been deployed by Washington – and discussions are ongoing about other forms of relief, including health services.
Rescue workers from the UK, Czech Republic and Germany have also been making their way to the epicentre.
Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.
The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.
The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.
Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.
Image: A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.
Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.
The perpetrator has not been identified.
Image: A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP
Image: A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.
In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.
He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.
There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.
Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.
He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.
Image: Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Image: Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.
It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.
Around 5,400 police were deployed across Parisafter the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.
Image: Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.
Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.
Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.
Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.
Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.
PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”
Image: Pics: AP
After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.
Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.
Image: Pics: AP
Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”
Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!
“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”
Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.
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At least 26 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.
Earlier, a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross reported that at least 21 people had been killed. The hospital, which has been receiving bodies and the wounded, also said another 175 people had been injured.
Witnesses said the deaths came after Israeli forces opened fire at a roundabout near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub, a new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US.
However, Palestinian and Hamas-linked media have attributed the deaths it has reported on to an Israeli airstrike.
It is not yet clear if eyewitnesses and Hamas-affiliated media are giving different accounts of the same incident.
Sky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for comment.
Witnesses tell of shooting
The area where the reported shooting took place is controlled by Israeli forces.
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 metres away from the military.”
Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.
Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub.
He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.
“They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative.
Image: Palestinians arrived to collect aid from a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub in Rafah last week. File pic: Reuters
Controversial new aid system
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US says is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.
Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.
The foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.
Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.
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0:53
From 31 May: Moment Israeli warplane strikes Gaza
GHF says aid distributed ‘without incident’
The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.
In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.
Meanwhile, the UN’s aid system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its total blockade of the territory last month.
Those groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.
Experts have warned that the Palestinian territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.
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3:29
From 29 May: Meet Gaza’s paramedics
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.
The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory, displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.