Minister of Tourism and founder/chairman of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Edmund Barlett, has expressed condolences and support for the recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria, following a catastrophic earthquake on Monday.

More than 3,800 people have been killed and thousands injured after the powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, leaving the countries devastated.

OBSERVER ONLINE understands that the Resilience Centre in Amman, Jordan is being alerted to offer full support to the countries. Additionally, Dr Talib Refai, co-chairman of the GTRCMC is also in Amman and will coordinate the efforts.

Regarded as one of the strongest in more than 100 years, the earthquake struck 23 kilometres (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometres (14.9 miles), the United States Geological Survey said.

Multiple aftershocks were felt across the region for hours following the first quake, including a severe quake measuring magnitude 7.5.

READ: Rescuers scramble in Turkey, Syria after quake kills 3,400

According to the Associated Press (AP), rescuers in Turkey and Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, intending to pull more survivors from the rubble that was left in the wake of the massive earthquake.

“Authorities feared the death toll from Monday’s pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis,” the AP reported.

It was also reported that survivors cried out for help from within mountains of debris as first responders contended with rain and snow. At the same time, seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another jolt nearly as powerful as the initial quake.