The powerful earthquakes in Turkey on Monday split the country’s Hatay Airport runway – the only one – into two parts, forcing the flight operations to shut down immediately. In a chilling video shared by a UK-based news organization, the runway can be seen split into two parts.
The first major earthquake in central Turkey and northwest Syria measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. Turkey saw two more earthquakes of 7.6 and 6.0 magnitudes since morning.
Also read: Turkey, Syria earthquake: Nerve-chilling videos show magnitude of destruction
The death toll across Turkey and Syria has increased to over 2,400 according to the latest data – with Turkey vice president Fuat Oktay confirming 1,541 deaths in the country alone. According to him, at least 9,733 people were injured as four of the aftershocks measured more than magnitude 6. This is the highest death toll from an earthquake in Turkey since 1999 when a tremor of a similar magnitude killed more than 17,000 people. While, over 960 people have died in Syria, reported AFP.