A powerful new quake left at least eight people dead in Turkey and Syria two weeks after a devastating earthquake killed nearly 45,000 people in the same area, authorities and media said Tuesday.
According to Turkey's disaster management agency, six people lost their lives and 294 more were injured - 18 of them seriously - after Monday night's 6.4-magnitude tremor. In Syria, a woman and a girl were killed in the panic in the provinces of Hama and Tartous, according to pro-government media.
The epicenter of the quake was in the town of Defne, in the Turkish province of Hatay, which is on the border with Syria. The quake was also felt in Jordan, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and even Egypt, and was followed by another 5.8 magnitude quake and dozens of tremors.
Hatay was one of the Turkish regions hardest hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake of February 6. Thousands of buildings were destroyed in the province then and Monday's tremor compounded the damage. The governor's office in Antioch, the historic heart of Hatay, was also damaged.
Authorities had warned quake victims not to wade into the ruins of their homes, but residents have been trying to retrieve as many belongings as possible. Some were trapped on Monday.