Weeks after Turkey-Syria were hit by a massive earthquake leading to the death of more than 46,000 people, another 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck southern Turkey and also felt in neighbouring Syria.
According to a government source, a disaster and emergency agency, Afad said, the tremor struck the region around 20:00 local time.
The mayor of Hatay, in southern Turkey, has said people are trapped under rubble.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency agency says the 6.4 tremor occurred at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT), followed by the 5.8 quake three minutes later.
The three deaths occurred in Antakya, Defne, and Samandag, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, urging people not to enter potentially dangerous buildings.
Reports from the city of Antakya spoke of fear and panic in the streets as ambulances and rescue crews tried to reach the worst affected areas where the walls of badly damaged buildings had collapsed.
In Syria, some 470 injured people are said to have visited hospitals after Monday’s quakes, which were also reportedly felt in Egypt and Lebanon.
Hatay province is on the Mediterranean Sea, and the disaster agency urged people to stay away from the coast, warning that the quakes might cause the sea level to rise by 50cm (20 inches).