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More than 2,400 dead as two massive earthquakes rock Turkey and Syria

The quake hit an area of Syria's northwest that is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last remaining rebel-controlled enclave. Turkey is home to millions of refugees from the conflict.

At least 461 people were killed in government-controlled areas and 1,326 were injured, according to the country’s health ministry. In opposition-held areas, members of the opposition emergency organization known as the White Helmets said the earthquake had killed at least 450 people and injured 1,000 more.

That takes the combined death toll across the two borders to at least 2,452, with fears it may still rise substantially.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, Turkey, a major city and provincial capital, when it struck at 4:17 a.m. local time (8:17 p.m. ET Sunday).

It was centered 11 miles deep, and a strong 6.7-magnitude aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later. At least 20 aftershocks followed in total, some hours later.

A 7.5-magnitude quake then hit about 100 miles north of Gaziantep at a depth of just 6 miles or so at 1:24 p.m. local time (5:24 a.m. ET), according to the USGS. Shallow earthquakes cause more damage.

In Turkey, the quake sent buildings crumbling, including sections of the Gaziantep castle, its most famous landmark and a historical symbol of the city.

Footage from local and social media showed sections of the ancient castle, which is nestled on a 6,000-year-old hill of ruins, that had tumbled down the hill-side and were left strewn onto nearby roads.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was the country’s largest disaster since 1939, adding that thousands of buildings had collapsed in the earthquake and aftershocks. 

“We were sleeping, then we collapsed on the ground and when it stopped we left the building,” İbrahim Furkan Aydin, 24, told NBC News. He was on vacation with his mother from Istanbul and had arrived in Gaziantep on Saturday.