Watch - aerial footage of the collapse of an entire neighborhood in the Syrian countryside of Idlib, as a result of the earthquake

Video footage captured by a drone showed the extent of the destruction in an area belonging to the Syrian governorate of Idlib, as a result of a strong earthquake that struck at dawn today, Monday, the areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving hundreds dead and injured, and was felt by a number of countries in the region.

The footage shows dozens of houses in the city of Sarmada in Idlib countryside, which were flattened after they collapsed as a result of the earthquake, while the fate of the residents of these houses is not known and if they were able to leave and evacuate them immediately after the earthquake occurred.

The footage also shows smoke rising from some parts of the place and a number of vehicles and people trying to search for the bodies of victims or survivors.

Hundreds of people were killed and injured in Syria and Turkey as a result of a strong earthquake that struck at dawn today, Monday, in southern Turkey, and the Turkish authorities raised the alert to the fourth level, which includes the request for international assistance.

The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management said that an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck the Pazardik district of Kahramanmaraş state in southern Turkey, at a depth of 7 km at dawn today, while the American Institute of Seismology reported that the strength of the main tremor reached 7.8 degrees.

Fuad Oktay, the Turkish Vice President, announced that the earthquake resulted in 284 deaths, 2,323 injuries, and the collapse of more than 1,700 buildings. He said that the authorities began sending ministers and relief teams to the affected states, indicating that the disaster occurred in difficult weather conditions.

In Syria, the earthquake struck the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Latakia, and Tartous, and the Syrian Civil Defense located in the opposition areas in the northwest of the country said that at least 147 people had died, describing the situation as very difficult, stressing that the city of Aleppo was the most affected, and that they needed international assistance. .

In turn, the Syrian Ministry of Health announced that the number of earthquake victims had reached 237 dead and 648 injured.