Antakya, Turkey(CNN) A magnitude 6.3 aftershock hit southern Turkey on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding hundreds more, according to Turkish and Syrian officials, two weeks after a great earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in both countries.
The earthquake hit Turkey’s southern Hatay province, near the border with Syria, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said on Monday.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the province’s Defne district, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Monday, adding that there had been 26 aftershocks since.
Turkish officials said at least three people were killed and 294 people were injured after aftershocks on Monday.
In the city of Antakya in the southern province of Hatay in the country, three men were trapped when a building that survived the first earthquake collapsed two weeks ago, said their relative Yahya Hallak.
Rescue workers sleep in the rubble of Antakya, Turkey, where their colleagues are trying to rescue three men trapped inside a collapsed building.
Hundreds of rescuers worked in the early hours of Tuesday morning trying to reach the men, some sleeping in the rubble next to the fires to stay warm, while others suffered from freezing temperatures. conditions to move heavy debris.
In northwestern Syria, more than 130 people were injured in Monday’s earthquake, which caused several other buildings to collapse, the White Helmets volunteer rescue group said.
“Our teams are working to take the injured to hospitals, check the affected villages and towns, and clear the debris to open the roads for ambulances,” the White Helmets said.
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The United States Geological Survey (USGS) first reported the earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 at a depth of 10 kilometers before it was revised to a magnitude of 6.3.
Officials are urging the public to stay away from the buildings. Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay earlier Monday asked the public “not to enter the destroyed buildings, especially to take their properties.”
Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 18 of the injured were in serious condition and were taken to Adana and Dörtyol. Field hospitals continue to provide services to other patients, he said.
“I hope that our injured, patients, local people and all the people of our country get well soon.
The mayor of Samandag, near the place where the earthquake hit, said that some buildings collapsed and the panic was panic following the warning of AFAD.
CNN teams in Adana, Turkey felt the quake, as did eyewitnesses in Gaziantep and Mersin.
Monday’s earthquake followed a deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake on February 6 that left more than 46,000 people dead in Turkey and Syria.
A father sits with his children as they seek shelter outside Antakya in Hatay province, Turkey on Monday.
Families affected by the earthquake two weeks ago told CNN they were terrified by Monday’s tremors.
“We went back to our house and this shock happened again and we went out … may God help us,” said Zahir, who lives in a town between the towns of Iskenderun and Antakia, in the province of Death in Turkey.
“We don’t know what to do now – today we will stay in the car and in the tent, we don’t know what will happen until tomorrow,” he told CNN.
People’s reaction after the Antakya earthquake.
On Sunday, Turkey’s disaster management authority said it had ended most search and rescue operations nearly two weeks after the earthquake as experts said the chances of survival for of people trapped in the ruins until the disaster is impossible.
Some efforts remain in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş and Hatay. On Saturday, a couple and their 12-year-old son were rescued in Hatay, 296 hours after the earthquake, reported the state news agency Anadolu.
Efforts to retrieve survivors have been hampered by cold winter weather in the quake-hit regions, as authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of bringing aid to northwestern Syria amid a severe humanitarian crisis compounded by years of political conflict.
Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes, as it is located on the borders of tectonic plates. Seven earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater have hit the country in the past 25 years — but the one on February 6 was the strongest and deadliest.
Monday’s earthquake was considered an aftershock because it was in the same general region and was smaller than the original 7.8 magnitude quake.
According to the USGS, “Aftershocks become less frequent over time, although they may persist for days, weeks, months, or even years for a very large mainshock.”
This story has been updated with new information from the USGS.
CNN’s Kareen Khadder and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.
