'Like we woke up to hell': 7,700 dead in quake-battered Turkey, Syria; baby rescued after being born under rubble: Live updates

 

The death toll surpassed 7,700 people across Turkey and Syria on Tuesday as the frantic search for survivors from two powerful earthquakes and a series of violent aftershocks continued for a second day.

The temblors toppled more than 6,000 buildings. In Turkey alone, more than 24,000 rescue workers from around the world were picking through mammoth heaps of debris seeking signs of life in a battle against time and pulling 8,000-plus people out of the rubble.

Amid the overwhelming suffering and destruction there were moments of joy, such as the rescue of several survivors under rubble for more than a day in the hard-hit Hatay province of Turkey, and the discovery of a newborn clinging to life while still attached to his dead mother's umbilical cord in northwest Syria.

But there was also a lot of despair and frustration that rescues are taking so long.

“It’s like we woke up to hell,” said Osman Can Taninmis, whose family members were still buried in debris in Hatay. “Help isn’t coming, can’t come. We can’t reach anyone at all. Everywhere is destroyed.”

Turkey’s emergency management agency said the country's death count has surpassed 5,400, with about 31,000 injured. An estimated 380,000 survivors have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels.

"We are facing one of the biggest disasters not only of the history of the Turkish Republic but also of ... the world," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

QUAKE DAMAGE:Photos capture devastating aftermath of powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake

Developments:

►Adelheid Marschang, a senior emergencies officer with the World Health Organization, said up to 23 million people could be affected in the entire area hit by the earthquake, calling it a “crisis on top of multiple crises.”

►Turkish Airlines said it shuttled 80 flights with almost 12,000 volunteers into the earthquake zone in southern Turkey on Tuesday. CEO Bilal Eksi said the flights would continue as long as necessary.