Qatar’s emir offers condolences to Erdoğan after Maraş quake

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday offered condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over a deadly earthquake that struck southern Türkiye, claiming hundreds of lives.

This came in a phone call made by Sheikh Tamim with the Turkish leader, according to a statement by the emir's office, the Amiri Diwan.

The Qatari ruler expressed his country's support for Türkiye to mitigate the serious humanitarian repercussions of the quake and wished the injured a speedy recovery, the statement said.

At least 912 people were killed and 5,385 others injured in 10 provinces after a strong earthquake jolted southern Türkiye on Monday morning, President Erdoğan said.

Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis provinces were heavily affected by the quake.

Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the 7.7 magnitude quake struck at 4.17 a.m. (0117GMT) and was centered in the Pazarcık district in Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaraş.

Later on Monday, a new 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck southern Türkiye, which was centered in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş, AFAD said.