Turkey and Syria earthquake: Frantic rescue efforts continue as as number of killed rises
Frantic rescue efforts are continuing as hundreds of people are trapped under rubble following a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake early Monday morning that rocked south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria killing more than 2,600.
The number of dead is expected to rise as rescue workers search the wreckage in cities and towns across the region.
At least 20 aftershocks followed, some hours later during daylight, the strongest with a magnitude of 6.6, Turkish authorities said.
Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities have been searching for survivors, working through tangles of metal and giant piles of concrete.
Turkey-Syria earthquake – latest updates
A hospital in Turkey also collapsed and patients, including newborn babies, were evacuated from a handful of facilities in Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise.
“Hopefully, we will leave these disastrous days behind us in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation.”
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Aftershock hits during news report in Malatya
The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centred on Turkey’s south-eastern province of Kahramanmaras.
It struck a region that has been shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria.
Latest figures from Turkey’s disaster agency show 1,651 fatalities have been recorded in 10 provinces, with some 7,600 injured.
In Syria’s government-controlled areas, a total of 538 people have died.
The Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, has confirmed 430 fatalities in opposition-held areas, which are packed with about four million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting.
Hundreds of families remain trapped in the rubble, according to the White Helmets.
Strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with wounded, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organisation.
“We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Dr Muheeb Qaddour said by phone from the town of Atmeh, in northern Syria.
Buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 200 miles to the north-east.
Rescuers carry out a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey
Building collapses following quake in Malatya, Turkey
Nearly 900 buildings were destroyed in Turkey’s Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras provinces, said vice president Fuat Oktay.
A hospital collapsed in the Mediterranean coastal city of Iskenderun, but casualties were not immediately known, he said.
“Unfortunately, at the same time, we are also struggling with extremely severe weather conditions,” Mr Oktay told reporters.
Nearly 2,800 search and rescue teams have been deployed in the disaster-stricken areas, he added.
The US Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude one struck more than 60 miles away.
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Analysis: This is the worst kind of quake
Why is the earthquake death toll so high in Turkey and Syria?
An official from Turkey’s disaster management agency said it was a new earthquake, not an aftershock, though its effects were not immediately clear.
The quake heavily damaged Gaziantep’s most famed landmark, its historic castle perched on a hill in the centre of the city.
Parts of the fortresses’ walls and watch towers were levelled and other parts heavily damaged.
Gaziantep castle in Gaziantep, Turkey
In Diyarbakir, hundreds of rescue workers and civilians formed lines across a mountain of wreckage, passing down broken concrete pieces, household belongings and other debris as they searched for trapped survivors.
In north-west Syria, the quake added new woes to the opposition-held enclave centred on the province of Idlib.
The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence described the situation there as “disastrous”, adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble.
A wounded man looks on as rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria
Civil defense workers and residents search through rubble in the Syrian town of Harem (Pic: AP)
In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were brought to a hospital.
“It was like the apocalypse,” said Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb.
“It’s bitterly cold and there’s heavy rain, and people need saving.”
Mr Erdogan said early on Monday that 45 countries had offered help with search and rescue efforts.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK government would be “sending immediate support”, with a team of 76 search-and-rescue specialists, equipment and four search dogs being sent to Turkey.
He said: “We have deployed a large search and rescue team with state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment…
“With Syria of course the situation is more complicated. But we have given many years of support to the White Helmets… and will be working through our UN partners on the ground and have increased funding specifically in response to this situation.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “My thoughts are with the people of Turkiye and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake.
“The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can.”
Several fault lines run through Turkey and Syria
Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.
At least 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.
Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at University College London, told Sky News that Turkey and Syria have experienced “the worst kind of earthquake”.
“It’s a very shallow earthquake beneath a highly populated area, a very strong earthquake, and in a region where we can see the buildings just can’t withstand this level of shaking.”
Mr Hicks said there is a “small chance” there could be “stronger aftershocks” or even another earthquake “larger than the main shock”.
World
Methanol poisoning warning list expanded – symptoms to spot and how you can avoid it when travelling
Eight countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office (FCDO) list warning Britons of a risk of methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol.
Guidance has been added to the FCDO’s travel pages for Ecuador, Kenya, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Uganda and Russia after an increase in cases of serious illness and death caused by alcoholic drinks tainted with methanol.
The list previously only included methanol poisoning guidance for countries where British nationals have been affected.
This included: Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Fiji.
Last year, British backpacker Simone White died in Laos, after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in the resort of Vang Vieng.
The 28-year-old from Orpington, Kent, was one of four, including an Australian woman and two Danish women, who died after being treated for methanol poisoning.
As part of the FCDO Travel Aware campaign, it is issuing information on recognising the symptoms and reducing the risks of methanol poisoning.
Hamish Falconer, the minister responsible for consular and crisis, said: “Methanol poisoning can kill – it can be difficult to detect when drinking and early symptoms mirror ordinary alcohol poisoning. By the time travellers realise the danger, it can be too late.
“I encourage all travellers to check our travel advice and Travel Aware pages before they go on holiday.”
Vang Vieng, Laos. File pic: iStock
What is methanol?
Methanol, or CH3OH, is very similar to ethanol – the pure form of alcohol in alcoholic drinks.
Like ethanol, it is an odourless, tasteless, and highly flammable liquid – but it has a different chemical structure that makes it toxic for humans.
Otherwise known as wood alcohol, methanol is most often used to make solvents, pesticides, paint thinners, and alternative fuels.
What makes it so dangerous is the way our bodies metabolise it.
Once consumed, our enzymes metabolise methanol into formaldehyde, the substance used to make industrial glue and embalming substances, before breaking it down into formic acid.
“The formic acid upsets the acid balance in blood and the major consequence is initially the effect on someone’s breathing. There are effects on many other organs, the kidney being one,” says Professor Alastair Hay, emeritus professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds.
“Formaldehyde attacks nerves, particularly the optic nerve and blindness is a potential risk,” he adds.
Travelling Britons should avoid counterfeit alcohols. Pic: iStock
How does it end up in alcoholic drinks?
In southeast Asia and other popular tourist destinations, methanol can be found in alcoholic drinks for two main reasons.
Firstly, it is cheaper than ethanol, so it is sometimes added instead to save costs, before the counterfeit alcohol is bottled and sold in shops and bars.
Alternatively, it can occur by accident when alcohol is homemade – something common across the region.
When alcohol is distilled and fermented without the appropriate monitoring, it can sometimes produce methanol in toxic quantities.
Because it is impossible to tell the difference between methanol and ethanol content without specialist equipment, homemade drinks are often offered to tourists without anyone knowing how dangerous they are.
Simone White died of methanol poisoning in Laos in 2024
What are the symptoms of methanol poisoning?
Methanol is highly toxic, so as little as 25ml can prove fatal.
Methanol poisoning can be treated by using ethanol to counter the effects on the body – but only within the first 10 to 30 hours after consumption.
This makes early diagnosis and warnings to others critical. Some symptoms, however, can appear 12–48 hours after drinking.
The most common symptoms are:
• Vomiting and nausea;
• Changes in vision, including blurring, loss of sight, tunnel vision and difficulty looking at bright lights;
• Abdominal and muscle pain;
• Dizziness and confusion;
• Drowsiness and fatigue.
Methanol poisoning symptoms are similar to those from alcohol poisoning – but are often more severe. If drinks were left unattended or your symptoms appear disproportionate to the amount you drank, it could be methanol poisoning, authorities warn.
How is it treated?
Professor Hay says treatment involves removing methanol from the blood via dialysis – while “keeping someone mildly drunk” by giving them ethanol at the same time.
“The principle behind administering ethanol is quite simple; it delays methanol metabolism,” he says.
“Both alcohols are broken down by the same liver enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase. But the enzyme prefers ethanol.
“So ethanol acts as a competitive inhibitor largely preventing methanol breakdown, but markedly slowing it down, allowing the body to vent methanol from the lungs and some through the kidneys, and a little through sweat.”
This avoids the process of methanol ultimately metabolising as formic acid, he adds.
How can you avoid it while travelling?
The most commonly affected drinks are:
• Local spirits, such as rice and palm liquor, often labelled ‘special’ or ‘happy’ drinks;
• Spirit-based mixed drinks such as cocktails;
• Counterfeit brand-name bottled alcohol sold in bars and shops.
In order to minimise risks, travellers should:
• Buy alcohol only from licensed bars, hotels, or shops;
• Check labels for signs bottles may be counterfeit, including poor print quality or spelling errors;
• Avoid homemade alcohol;
• Check bottles are properly sealed before drinking from them;
• Avoid free drinks you have not seen poured yourself;
• Do not leave drinks or food unattended.
A 100-strong specialist police unit is investigating the daring theft of French Crown Jewels from the Louvre – as officers face “a race against time” to recover the “priceless” objects.
On Sunday, four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the central Paris museum was open to visitors.
What do we know about the police investigation?
A huge police operation to find the culprits and the jewels is now under way – with one expert describing the probe as “one of the biggest manhunts in French history”.
Paris prosecutors have entrusted the investigation to a specialised unit known as the BRB, which often deals with high-profile robberies.
A former officer who served in the unit has said it handled the 2016 Kim Kardashian probe, after a gang stormed the reality TV star’s Paris apartment, tied her up and escaped with jewellery worth an estimated $6m (£4.4m).
Read more: What will happen to the stolen jewellery?
A forensic team inspects a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Pascal Szkudlara said the BRB has around 100 agents, with over a dozen who specialise in museum thefts.
Investigators are examining video evidence, telephone records and forensic evidence, while also speaking to informants.
Mr Szkudlara said the BRB “can have teams working on it 24/7 and for a long period”, adding he has “100%” confidence the thieves will be caught.
Art detective Arthur Brand – who helps police across Europe with investigations into missing works – has said officers will also be reviewing security footage going back weeks, looking to identify suspicious people casing out the gallery.
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‘Matter of time’ before gang hit Louvre
What do we know about the culprits?
Only a small pool of criminals would be capable of a job as audacious as Sunday’s heist and they may already be known to police, specialists say.
Art theft expert Anthony Amore told Sky News the culprits are “probably a European criminal gang”.
“The idea it’s professional thieves like you see in Ocean’s 11, it’s not that,” he told presenter Anna Botting. “It’s the sort of people who do this in all sorts of venues, so they are professional in that sense. They had this very well planned out.”
What have officers found so far?
As well as recovering one of the stolen items – a crown that once belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie – at the scene, French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said police have found “motorcycles and a licence plate”.
They have also recovered evidence from a cherry picker used by the thieves to access the first-floor Galerie d’Apollon, where the jewels were on display.
Read more:
The stolen items revealed
Workers ‘repeatedly warned of security shortcomings’
An officer swabs the cherry picker. Pic: Louvre
Ms Dati added: “I also want to pay tribute to the security officers who prevented the basket lift from being set on fire.
“One of the criminals tried to set it on fire, but they forced him to flee.”
Police face ‘a race against time’
Art detective Mr Brand told Sky News the likelihood of the loot being found intact is reducing every day.
“These crown jewels are so famous, you just cannot sell them,” he explained. “The only thing they can do is melt the silver and gold down, dismantle the diamonds, try to cut them. That’s the way they will probably disappear forever.”
He said officers will need to catch the thieves within the week to preserve any hopes of the jewels being recovered.
“If it takes longer, the loot is probably gone and dismantled,” he said. “It’s a race against time.”
The jewels stolen from the Louvre are worth an estimated €88m (£76m), a Paris prosecutor has said.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said about 100 investigators were involved in the police hunt for the suspects and the gems following the heist on Sunday from the world’s most-visited museum.
“The wrongdoers who took these gems won’t earn €88m if they had the very bad idea of disassembling these jewels,” she told broadcaster RTL.
“We can perhaps hope that they’ll think about this and won’t destroy these jewels without rhyme or reason.”
It comes after France’s culture minister said the security apparatus installed at the Louvre worked properly during the theft, after questions emerged about the security and whether security cameras might have failed.
The thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade, forced a window open, smashed display cases and then fled with the priceless Napoleonic jewels.
“The Louvre museum’s security apparatus did not fail, that is a fact,” the minister, Rachida Dati. “The Louvre museum’s security apparatus worked.”
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
‘A wound for all of us’
Ms Dati said she had launched an administrative inquiry, in addition to the police investigation, to ensure full transparency into what happened.
She described the heist as a painful injury for France, saying it was “a wound for all of us”.
“Why? Because the Louvre is far more than the world’s largest museum. It’s a showcase for our French culture and our shared patrimony.”
Read more:
How ‘one of the biggest manhunts in French history’ is unfolding
What will happen to the stolen jewellery?
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‘Matter of time’ before gang hit Louvre
Cameras ‘all around the Louvre’
On Monday, France’s interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the museum’s alarm was triggered when the thieves forced the window of the Apollo Gallery.
Police officers arrived at the site two or three minutes after they were called by an individual who witnessed the scene, he said on LCI TV.
Officials said the heist lasted less than eight minutes, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre.
Read more:
The stolen items revealed
Workers ‘repeatedly warned of security shortcomings’
Mr Nunez did not disclose details about video surveillance cameras that may have filmed the thieves around and in the museum, pending a police investigation.
“There are cameras all around the Louvre,” he said.
According to officials, eight items were stolen during the heist:
• A tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• A necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• A single earring, from the pair belonging to the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• An emerald necklace from the Empress Marie Louise set
• A pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Marie Louise set
• A brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”
• The tiara of Empress Eugenie
• A large corsage bow brooch of Empress Eugenie
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