Antakya, Turkey (CNN) At least six people have died and hundreds were injured after severe aftershocks hit southern Turkey on Monday, as the region was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands on February 6.
A 6.3 magnitude aftershock shook the southern Turkish province of Hatay near the Syrian border on Monday. According to the Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM, the epicenter originated in the Defne district. Ninety aftershocks followed, the largest of which was recorded at 5.8 a.m.
At least 294 people were injured – 18 “seriously,” SAKOM said Tuesday, adding that survivors were being treated by health units at local hospitals.
Search and rescue operations in the affected regions are underway, the head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Yunus Sezer, tweeted on Tuesday.
Rescuers pictured on Tuesday search for victims after a series of aftershocks hit Turkey’s southern Hatay province. Rescue workers sleep on rubble in Antakya, Turkey, where their colleagues are trying to rescue three men trapped in a collapsed building.
In the city of Antakya in the country’s southern Hatay province, three men were trapped when a building that survived the first tremor two weeks ago collapsed, according to their relative Yahya Hallak.
Hundreds of rescuers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning trying to reach the men. Some fell asleep on rubble next to fires to keep warm, while others faced freezing conditions to move heavy rubble.
More than 130 people were injured in north-west Syria, volunteer rescue group White Helmets said.
“Our teams are working to transport the injured to hospitals, inspect the affected villages and towns and clear debris to open the roads for ambulances,” the White Helmets said.
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The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake as measuring 6.4 at a depth of 10 kilometers before it was corrected to a magnitude of 6.3.
Officials have urged the public to stay away from buildings. Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay earlier Monday urged the public not to “enter the damaged buildings, particularly to take their belongings.”
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 18 of the injured were in serious condition and had been transported to Adana and Dörtyol. Field hospitals continue to provide services to other patients, he said.
“I wish our injured, patients, locals and all the people of our country that they get well soon. May Allah ease our pain with health and well-being and protect us from new pain and sorrow,” Koca said.
The mayor of Samandag, near the quake, said some buildings had collapsed and that the mood was one of panic after the AFAD warning.
CNN teams in Adana, Turkey felt the quake, as did eyewitnesses in Gaziantep and Mersin.
Monday’s earthquake follows a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 that killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
People in Turkey’s southern province of Kahramanmaras pictured on Monday try to keep warm after severe shaking from a fire. A father sits with his children sheltering outside in Antakya, in Turkey’s Hatay province, on Monday.
Families affected by the earthquake two weeks ago told CNN the terror caused by Monday’s tremors.
“We went back to our house and this shock happened again and we walked out… may God help us,” said Zahir, who lives in a town between the cities of Iskenderun and Antakia in Turkey’s Hatay province.
“We don’t know what to do today – today we stay in the car and in the tent, we don’t know what’s going to happen until tomorrow,” he told CNN.
People react after an earthquake in Antakya.
“We will not forgive anyone”
AFAD said more than 7,000 aftershocks were recorded in Turkey after the first earthquake two weeks ago.
Scenes emerged of entire neighborhoods being devastated by the quake that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this month.
According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, almost 900,000 people are living in tents and containers in Turkey after the disaster and the subsequent earthquake.
Nearly 140,000 buildings have collapsed, requiring immediate demolition or severe damage, Erdogan said, adding that 115,000 people were injured by the earthquake.
Shortly after the quake, Turkish authorities arrested or detained a number of property developers amid growing concerns that the government was failing to take the necessary steps to enforce building regulations.
“If there are people who are negligent, culpable or have caused loss of life, it is our duty to hold them accountable before the law,” Erdogan said on Tuesday. “We will not forgive anyone.”
On Sunday, Turkey’s civil protection agency said it had ended most search and rescue operations nearly two weeks after the quake, as experts say the chances of surviving people trapped in the rubble so far into the disaster are remote .
Some efforts remain in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay provinces. A couple and their 12-year-old child were rescued in Hatay on Saturday, 296 hours after the earthquake, state-run Anadolu News Agency reported.
Efforts to recover survivors have been hampered by a cold winter spell in quake-hit regions as authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of transporting relief supplies to northwest Syria amid an acute humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by years of political wrangling .
Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes as it lies on tectonic plate boundaries. Seven tremors measuring 7.0 or greater have struck the country in the last 25 years – but February 6 was the strongest and deadliest.
Monday’s quake is considered an aftershock because it is in the same general region and is lower than the original 7.8 magnitude quake.
According to the USGS, “Aftershocks become less frequent over time, although for a very large mainshock they can last for days, weeks, months, or even years.”
This story has been updated with new information from USGS.
CNN’s Kareen Khadder, Taylor Ward, and Sana Noor Haq contributed to this report.