A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed more than 1,200 people, and injured thousands more, in south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria after it hit in the early hours of Monday, 6 February 2023.

In two sections of a gas pipeline in the Turkish city of Hatay explosions and a fire occurred as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria.

The Turkish authorities decided to suspend the supply of gas to a number of areas located near the epicenters of the earthquakes, Ikhlas Turkish news reports.

Similarly, another 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey in the Elbistan district of Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province at 1.24pm local time.

Whilst the full extent of the damage caused by the earthquake will reveal itself in the coming days, seismologists say the quake is one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey.