A 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkiye's Gaziantep province, 3 kilometers east of Nurdagi, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

According to CNN, the quake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people, according to the USGS. While earthquakes of this magnitude are rare, in the past 25 years Turkiye has experienced seven such big events, with magnitude 7.0 or greater, the most powerful of them being the latest one.

According to same sources, strong aftershocks have been felt in southern and central Turkey. About 11 minutes after the main quake hit, the strongest aftershock of 6.7 magnitude hit about 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the main quake's epicenter. Another intense aftershock with a magnitude of 5.6 then occurred 19 minutes after the main quake.

While rescuers are to find survivors trapped beneath rubble, the first estimations speak about 500 victims and over 3,000 injured in Turkiye and neighboring Syria.