Scores killed as huge quake rocks Turkey and Syria
Footage shows men trying to smash windows with bricks to save people trapped in collapsed buildings in central Turkey.
The United States is "profoundly concerned" by the reports of the disaster, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said.
US President Joe Biden has directed the country's international development agency to asses how it can help.
The tremor's damage has centred on southern Turkey and Syria, but it was also felt in nearby Lebanon, Gaza and Cyprus.
"I
was writing something and just all of a sudden the entire building
started shaking and yes I didn't really know what to feel," Mohamad El
Chamaa, a student in the Lebanese capital Beirut, told the BBC.
"I
was right next to the window so I was just scared that they might
shatter. It went on for four-five minutes and it was pretty horrific. It
was mind-blowing," he said.
Rushdi Abualouf, a BBC producer in the Gaza Strip, also said he felt about 45 seconds of shaking in the house he was staying in.
Forty-two
people were killed and more than 200 injured in Syria due to the quake,
according to the country's official news agency.
Syrian state media also reported a large number of buildings have collapsed in the province of Aleppo.
Early statements from officials in Turkey and Syria put the death toll at more than 100, but that is likely to rise
Rescuers are racing to save people trapped beneath the rubble after hundreds of buildings collapsed in both countries
Turkey declares a state of emergency and urges people not to use mobile phones to allow rescuers to co-ordinate
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday and dozens of aftershocks have been felt in the hours since
Millions
of people across Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel felt the
earthquake - the epicentre was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep
