Rescue team members search for people in a destroyed building during the aftermath of an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey. AP
Antakya, Turkey: At least 32 aftershocks were reported after another earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck Turkey’s southern province of Hatay and northern Syria on Monday.
The quake struck the region merely two weeks after it was devastated by a larger tremor that killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.
Monday’s quake was centred near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three people were killed and 213 were taken to hospital, while in Syria White Helmets said more than 130 people were injured and that some already damaged buildings had collapsed.
Those injured are being rushed to Adana, said Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Monday’s quake hit the Turkish town of Defne at 8:04 pm (1704 GMT) and was strongly felt by AFP teams in Antakya city and Adana province, 200 kilometres (300 miles) to the north.
AFP teams also felt the tremor in Lebanon.
Turkey’s disaster management agency said on Twitter another 5.8-magnitude quake followed three minutes later and its epicentre was Samandag district in Hatay.
The agency recorded two more tremors of 5.2-magnitude around 20 minutes after the first on Monday.
According to The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), more than 6,200 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude hit Turkey and Syria, leaving millions homeless.
Officials said after the 6 February quake that aftershocks would be felt for a year because of the force of the first tremor.
That earthquake killed 41,156 people in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria, but experts expect the toll to rise as the rubble is cleared and rescue operations end.
Eleven provinces were hit by the previous tremors and on Sunday, officials said rescue operations continue only in two: Hatay and Kahramanmaras.
With inputs from agencies
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