The death toll from Turkey's second earthquake is close to 1,500

 

A second powerful earthquake has rocked Turkey as the death toll from earlier tremors across the continental country and neighboring Syria nears 1,500.

A second earthquake struck central Turkey on Monday afternoon (9.24pm AEDT), with a magnitude of 7.5 and a depth of 10km, the US Geological Survey said. The epicenter was about four kilometers from Ekinozu, northeast of the previous earthquake.

The damage and death toll from the latest shock are unknown. Orhan Tatar, an official at the Turkish Disaster Agency, told reporters that the two earthquakes were independent of each other. Hundreds of aftershocks were expected after these two, he said.

A second aftershock was felt as far away as the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, where people took to social media to see footage of curtains falling and workers in some high-rise buildings in the capital, Nicosia, rushed out.

Earlier on Monday, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria, toppling around 3,000 buildings. Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under the rubble, and the number is expected to rise as rescue workers search piles of rubble in towns and cities across the region.