The death toll on Tuesday continued to climb following a massive earthquake in western Turkey that claimed at least 1,100 lives, injured more than 10,000 others, and left an untold number of people injured. It was the strongest earthquake ever to strike the region since such measurements started being kept, and was felt across much of the area, including in the nearby capital, Istanbul.
Rescue workers struggle to free a woman trapped in the rubble.
As day turned to evening Tuesday, a grisly search continued for survivors amidst the pancaked ruins of numerous apartment buildings in Izmet, a port city and home to an oil refinery that burst into flames shortly after the quake struck. A pall of thick black smoke hung over the city as firefighters battled the blaze. Rescue workers clawed at the collapsed concrete with their hands, alternately shouting for survivors and then growing silent, listening for the tell-tale signs of life among the ruins. Late Tuesday, the prime minister's office confirmed that at 1,169 people were killed in the earthquake and that thousands more were injured. Area hospitals reportedly were swamped with patients, forcing physicians to treat many of the injured in parking lots.