Deadly new tremor traps people under rubble

Rescuers are once again searching for people trapped under rubble in Turkey after another earthquake hit the country, killing at least six people.

A 6.4 magnitude tremor struck near the city of Antakya near the border with Syria, where massive quakes devastated both countries on 6 February.

The earlier quakes killed 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria with tens of thousands more left homeless.

Buildings weakened by those tremors collapsed in both countries on Monday.

Turkey’s disaster and emergency agency says the 6.4 earthquake occurred at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles).

This was followed by a 5.8 aftershock three minutes later and 31 subsequent aftershocks that were not as severe.

It’s thought the death toll has been relatively low this time because the earthquake struck in an area that was largely empty after it was badly hit by the 6 February quake.

Reports from the city of Antakya spoke of fear and panic in the streets as ambulances and rescue crews tried to reach the worst affected areas where the walls of badly damaged buildings had collapsed.

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” local resident Muna al-Omar told Reuters news agency, crying as she held her seven-year-old son. She had been in a tent in a park in the city centre when the new earthquakes hit.