'We thought it was the apocalypse'

numerous tower blocks instantly but leaving others untouched.

Frantic family members used their bare hands to dig through rubble in a desperate attempt to find loved ones.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the devastation was the worst disaster to hit his country for a century and had decimated at least 10 cities.

One shocked survivor said: “We thought it was the apocalypse.”

Turkish authorities said last night that 2,316 people had been killed and 13,293 injured in the devastating earthquake.

That brought the total number of victims to 3,613, with 1,297 fatalities in Syria.

Experts have warned the overall figure could reach as high as 10,000.

The emergency services added that 7,340 people had been rescued so far. Thousands more are believed to be trapped in the rubble.

A quake of the same magnitude in Turkey in 1939 ended up killing 32,000.

The British Government immediately sent 76 search and rescue specialists as they joined the international aid effort.

Damaged

And seismologists said they were stunned by the sheer intensity of yesterday’s initial 7.8 quake, which was followed hours later by a second 7.5 tremor.

Most of the dead were trapped beneath collapsed buildings, but survivors also found themselves pinned under tons of rubble, sparking a massive rescue effort.