Earthquake levels city of Antakya in southern Turkey

The city of Antakya was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake.

February 10, 2023, 4:10 PM

The Turkish city of Antakya, one of the hardest-hit towns in the earthquake zone has been nearly destroyed by the massive 7.8 quake that struck on Feb. 6.

PHOTO: Destroyed buildings are seen from above in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Destroyed buildings are seen from above in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Hussein Malla/AP

Tall apartment buildings were flattened, trapping residents who were sleeping when the quake struck in the early morning hours. Thousands are believed to be buried in their homes.

Before and after satellite images of Antakya.

Almost every home was destroyed or heavily damaged and rescuers have been working around the clock to pull survivors from under the rubble, racing against time in cold weather.

PHOTO: Swiss rescue team handing over a four-month-old girl called Abir rescued from under the rubble of a collapsed building following a massive earthquake, Feb. 6, 2023, in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Swiss rescue team handing over a four-month-old girl called Abir rescued from under the rubble of a collapsed building following a massive earthquake, Feb. 6, 2023, in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023. Abir survived with her relatives for almost three days in the rubble of a residential building and was rescued by the Swiss team, after which she was handed over to a relatives.
Michael Fichter/FDFA via AFP-Getty Images

Workers pulled a man in his 30s out of the ruins as a jubilant crowd burst into cheers and tears. A little while later, they find a woman, then another.

The child was under the rubble for 90 hours, according to the Associated Press.
The child was under the rubble for 90 hours, according to the Associated Press.

These moments of hope among the devastation keep them going as darkness falls.

PHOTO: Search and rescue teams work to find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Search and rescue teams work to find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Xinhua via Newscom

More than 80 hours after the quake, rescuers using pails along with other equipment, find a man and his mother, and pull them out alive.

Amid the rubble in Antakya, a group of rescuers were able to pull out lost family members alive.
Amid the rubble in Antakya, a group of rescuers were able to pull out lost family members alive.

Even as more help arrives, hope for finding survivors dwindles.

PHOTO: A member of a South Korean rescue team searches for survivors with the help of a bandaged rescue dog, at the site of a collapsed building in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 10, 2023.
A member of a South Korean rescue team searches for survivors with the help of a bandaged rescue dog, at the site of a collapsed building in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 10, 2023.
Yonhap via Newscom

There are more than 100 bodies waiting for identification in a makeshift morgue outside the Antakya hospital, according to The Associated Press.

PHOTO: People carry the body of earthquake victim to an makeshift morgue outside a hospital in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
People carry the body of earthquake victim to an makeshift morgue outside a hospital in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Khalil Hamra/AP
PHOTO: Men carry the body of an earthquake victim from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Men carry the body of an earthquake victim from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times via Redux

Residents left homeless, spend nights outdoors, burning debris to keep warm as overnight temperatures drop below freezing.

PHOTO: A man uses a lantern to check damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
A man uses a lantern to check damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
PHOTO: People try to stay warm and temperatures drop by a fire next to destroyed buildings in Antakya, southern Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
People try to stay warm and temperatures drop by a fire next to destroyed buildings in Antakya, southern Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023. Tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in a catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires in the bitter cold and clamored for food and water.
Khalil Hamra/AP

More than 600 aftershocks are slowing recovery efforts and make the task more dangerous.

PHOTO: A man watches volunteers search for bodies in the old quarter of Antakya, Turkey, three days after the earthquake, Feb. 9, 2023.
A man watches volunteers search for bodies in the old quarter of Antakya, Turkey, three days after the earthquake, Feb. 9, 2023.
Emily Garthwaite/The New York Times via Redux

Little aid from the government has reached the city and the need is overwhelming. People walk the streets in tears, dazed. There is no place to go. Everything is covered in dust.

PHOTO: Volunteers distribute aid to people in Antakya, southern Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Volunteers distribute aid to people in Antakya, southern Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Khalil Hamra/AP
PHOTO: Family photographs are uncovered in the debris of collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Family photographs are uncovered in the debris of collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Emily Garthwaite/The New York Times via Redux

Even with some 120,000 rescuers across Turkey and Syria now taking part in the effort, the task is daunting. With every passing hour, the likelihood of finding survivors diminishes.

The Turkish city of Antakya was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake.
The Turkish city of Antakya was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake.

Rescuers gave sips of water to a young boy they found trapped while they worked to free him.

PHOTO: Muhammed Ahmed is given sips of water from a bottle cap as rescuers work to free him from the wreckage in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 7, 2023, following the earthquake
Muhammed Ahmed is given sips of water from a bottle cap as rescuers work to free him from the wreckage in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 7, 2023, following the earthquake. Officials said Muhammed was pulled to safety after spending 45 hours in the earthquake rubble.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Family members wait in the cold near the rubble to see if their loved ones will be found, alive or dead.

PHOTO: Displaced residents sit near their collapsed home as rescue operations continue in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Displaced residents sit near their collapsed home as rescue operations continue in Antakya, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times via Redux
PHOTO: A map shows the epicenters of the 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes in Turkey.
A map shows the epicenters of the 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes in Turkey.
ABC News

ABC News' Ian Pannell and Moe Zoyari contributed to this report.