Turkey-Syria border region hit by 6.4 magnitude earthquake

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Turkey-Syria border two weeks after a massive quake in the region left more than 46,000 people dead, the US Geological Survey has said.

The earthquake has hit Turkey’s Hatay province which was devastated by a huge tremor in the disaster earlier this month.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has said the powerful earthquake has struck at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles).

Turkey’s AFAD disaster management agency has said the earthquake was centred around the town of Defne.

The country’s state-run Anadolu Agency said the quake was felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.

Two Reuters witnesses reported a strong quake and further damage to buildings in central Antakya, the capital of Hatay province in Turkey.

Other witnesses said Turkish rescue teams were running around after the latest quake, checking people were unharmed.

NTV television said the quake caused some damaged buildings to collapse, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Muna Al Omar, a resident, said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit.

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.

“Is there going to be another aftershock?” she asked.

The magnitude 7.8 that struck on 6 February has killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey and Syria, according to the latest official tally reported by Reuters.

It has also left more than a million people homeless.

Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks.