Xinhua News Agency, Ankara, February 6 (Reporter Xiong Sihao) The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency announced on the 6th that a strong earthquake that occurred in southern Turkey near the Syrian border that day has killed at least 2,316 people and injured 13,293 in the country. 5,606 houses were destroyed.

　　According to the Earth Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time (9:17 a.m. Beijing time) in Kahramanmaras Province on the 6th, with a focal depth of 7 kilometers. The surrounding Gaziantep The earthquake was felt strongly in many provinces such as , Hatay, and Malatya.

Hatay province, close to the Syrian border, currently has the highest death toll.

Turkish Health Minister Koja said at least 520 people were killed in the earthquake in the province, where two hospital buildings collapsed.

　　The Earth Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said rescue teams had so far pulled at least 6,445 people from the rubble and were still searching for survivors.

According to Turkish NTV television, rescue teams successfully rescued two children from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras province.

　　In addition, the Turkish military has dispatched more than 3,000 soldiers to the disaster area to participate in the rescue.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense opened an air corridor on the same day so that the search and rescue team could reach the disaster area as soon as possible.

Turkish soldiers rescue a child from a collapsed building in Nurdayi district of Gaziantep province.

　　Turkey has declared seven days of national mourning in memory of the victims of the earthquake.

The Turkish Ministry of Education announced the closure of schools at all levels across the country for a week.

　　The Chinese embassy in Turkey confirmed that there are currently no reports of casualties among Chinese citizens.

　　Turkey is located in an earthquake-prone zone.

In 2011, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Van province in eastern Turkey, killing 644 people.

In 2020, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Aegean Sea in western Turkey, killing 116 people.