‘Catastrophic’ earthquake in Turkey and Syria kills at least 3,500 people

Dozens of countries offer help as rescue workers and residents frantically search for survivors after devastating 7.8-magnitude tremor

• Turkey and Syria earthquake: latest updates

International rescue missions were rushing to Turkey and Syria on Monday after one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the region in at least a century left more than 3,500 people dead, thousands injured and an unknown number trapped in the rubble.

The early-morning quake and dozens of aftershocks wiped out entire apartment blocks in Turkey and heaped more destruction on Syrian communities already devastated by over a decade of war.