A huge earthquake killed about 2,300 people and injured thousands more on Monday in central Turkey and northwest Syria, flattening apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war.

Television images in Turkey showed rescue workers searching through the rubble in city centers and residential areas near the Syrian border. The worst damage was observed near the epicenter of the quake between Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, where entire city blocks have been destroyed and are covered in snow.

Rescue workers sift through the rubble in search of survivors after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits Turkey and Syria.

With the number of casualties rapidly rising, aid organizations urge for a swift and comprehensive emergency response to save lives and provide medical attention to those affected by the earthquake in Idlib.

President Tayyip Erdogan said 5,383 had been injured but he could not predict how much the death toll would rise as search and rescue efforts continued. He added that 2,818 buildings had collapsed

Thousands of buildings were destroyed in the town of Salqin, Syria following the earthquake

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris

A man is rescued from a collapsed building in Osmaniye province

People in Damascus and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in fear of collapses

A 13th century mosque and a 2,200-year-old Roman castle in Gaziantep have been partially destroyed, with the latter reduced to rubble.

The US offered support and assistance after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Survivors search through the rubble of their homes, hoping to find any sign of their loved ones after the earthquake caused widespread damage in rebel-held northwestern Syria

Rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble of a damaged building, following an earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria.