The death toll from an earthquake in Turkey has risen to 912, with 5,385 injured, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. According to him, it was the largest earthquake in the country since 1939. In Syria, the death toll rose to 326 and more than 1,042 were injured, the local Health Ministry said.

Erdogan spoke from a control center set up to coordinate rescue efforts. He said 2,818 buildings collapsed in the quake. A total of 2,470 people have been rescued. Ankara has already received offers of aid from more than 45 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and European Union countries. “This is the largest natural disaster in Turkey since 1939,” the Turkish president said (quoted by TASS).

In Syria, Prime Minister Hussein Arnus’s sister, Nasub Arnus, was among the victims. She died as a result of the collapse of a building in the city of Hama, reports the Al Watan newspaper.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the south of Turkey today, February 6, at night near the city of Gaziantep, where more than 1 million people live. There were also recorded tremors and aftershocks on the border with Syria. The Russian EMERCOM has already prepared two IL-76s with rescuers to be sent to Turkey.