Death toll in Turkey earthquake rises to 2,921

Turkey’s government-run aid organization AFAD reported on Tuesday that the death toll from a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake had increased to 2,921.

The new figure brings the total number of fatalities in Turkey and neighboring Syria, where the quake that caused them is thought to have been the strongest in nearly a century, to 4,365.

Meanwhile, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has declared seven days of national mourning following the deadly earthquake that left more than 2,651 people dead in both Turkey and Syria.

People were asleep when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Gaziantep occurred early on Monday.

Around 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT), a new 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck, which authorities described as “not an aftershock.”

Erdogan proclaimed a seven-day period of national mourning after two earthquakes that struck Turkey today alone resulted in the deaths of more than 1,650 people.

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