Thousands dead in quake

MORE than 2,300 people have died after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake toppled hundreds of buildings across wide swathes of Turkey and Syria.

Hundreds of people are still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers search mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.

On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside ona cold winter’s night.

Nearly 1,500 people were killed in 10 Turkish provinces, with some 8,500 injured, according to the president of the country’s disaster management agency.

The death toll in governmentheld areas of Syria climbed past 430 people, with some 1,280 injured, according to the health ministry.