The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has declared seven days of national mourning after deadly earthquake killed more than 2,651 people in Turkey and Syria.
The 7.8 magnitude sudden quake struck near Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday while people were asleep.However,a new 7.5-magnitude tremor hit at around 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT), which officials said was “not an aftershock.”
The president, in a tweet, said “Due to the earthquakes that took place in our country on February 6, 2023, a national mourning period was declared for seven days.“Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our country and foreign representations.” 
Rescuers are racing to save people trapped beneath the rubble after hundreds of buildings collapsed in both countries.Syrian authorities are reporting 810 dead and more than 2,000 injured. World leaders have pledged to send aid after Turkey issued an international appeal for help. Millions of people across Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel felt the earthquake.
Over 1,650 people died in Turkey alone following two earthquakes which struck the country today.This put the combined total in Turkey and neighbouring Syria to 2,651.
Unfortunately,a Ghanaian international player, Christian Atsu is also a victim trapped in rubbles following the massive earthquakes .The 31-year-old player is reported to be trapped in the rubbles of the quake with Hatayspor Sporting Director Taner Savut.
Leading Turkish sport presenter Yagız Sabuncuoglu tweeted “Hatayspor Sporting Director Taner Savut and Cristian Atsu were left under the rubble. Search and rescue teams are looking for two names.“Search and rescue efforts continue for Cristian Atsu and Taner Savut. Both names have not been reached yet.”
