The death toll in Turkey following Monday morning’s earthquakes has risen to 1,541, according to the country’s vice-president.

Fuat Oktay says more than 9,700 people have been injured after the two quakes struck the south and south-east of the country today.

He did not go into how many casualties, if any, resulted from the second quake.

There were 145 aftershocks following both quakes, three of whose magnitudes were larger than 6.0, he added.

Some 3,500 buildings had been destroyed, Oktay also said, as rescuers continued to search through the debris in freezing conditions looking for survivors.

Source: BBC