雅虎香港電視

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a national mourning period after a powerful earthquake struck the southeast of the country in the early hours of Monday, February 6, killing hundreds.

Erdogan said the mourning period would last for seven days, and the Turkish flag would be flown at half-mast until sunset on February 12.

Footage posted to the Gendarmerie General Command Twitter page shows a search and rescue team removing people from rubble in Diyarbakir, a city in southeastern Turkey. The post said the team rescued two adults and one child from a destroyed building.

Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency in Turkey, reported that at least 1,651 people were killed and another 11,119 injured in the quake and powerful aftershocks, citing the Minister of Health.

The initial earthquake was measured at 7.8 magnitude by the US Geological Survey. Credit: Gendarmerie General Command via Storyful