Massive earthquakes strike Turkey and Syria
It's the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria that is known so far to have killed more than 1,300 people and destroyed more than 3,000 buildings. The quake, which had a magnitude 7.8, was felt up to 600 miles away, and there are fears. The number of dead could rise sharply as rescue teams searched for people trapped under the rubble. Turkey has declared a state of emergency, and the U.S. has already offered assistance.
NBC News chief international correspondent Kier Simmons has the latest. Whole buildings collapsing from the earthquake's power. Unable to stand against this quake, almost eight on the Richter scale. The morning light revealing devastation and wreckage. A toddler in Syria, bloody but conscious, pulled from the rubble. And other survivors taken from collapsed buildings, lucky to be alive. Three huge tremors snapping street lights and sending car alarms wailing.
The moments recorded on security camera footage. This is one of the region's worst quakes in decades, striking while people slept just after 4 a.m. The quake hitting a huge area of southern Turkey and northern Syria, an area already war-torn with hundreds of refugees. The tremors felt as far as Beirut, Jerusalem and Gaza. In northern Syria, they are searching for survivors in opposition-held territory. Hospitals there already overwhelmed with the injured.
We need help. We need the international community to do something to help us, to support us. Turkey's President Erdogan said rescue workers will be joined by troops to search for survivors, but they have a vast area to cover. Those searching, calling for silence as they try and listen for trapped survivors. This rescuer, asking someone trapped, what color are you wearing? Are you wearing pink? A frantic rush to find those caught in the rubble. The White House offering to provide any and all assistance to Turkey, although the statement left out any reference to the U.S.
working directly with Syria. And a second earthquake with a magnitude 7.6 has struck southern Turkey less than 12 hours after the first massive quake will be monitoring these developments and will bring you the very latest.
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