More than 21,000 dead from quake in Turkey and Syria

By Tara Subramaniam, Feb. 10: More than 21,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, officials said.

Rescue workers are racing against time to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings. Some heart-warming successes were seen in Turkey, but an aid group said the hope is fading in northwest Syria.

Monday's earthquake was one of the deadliest in 2 decades

With the death toll in Turkey and Syria surpassing 21,000, the earthquake has now marked a grim milestone — it's in the top 10 of deadliest quakes over the past 20 years.

A number of factors have contributed to making this earthquake so lethal. One of them is the time of day it occurred. With the quake hitting early in the morning, many people were in their beds when it happened, and are now trapped under the rubble of their homes.

Additionally, with a cold and wet weather system moving through the region, poor conditions have made reaching affected areas trickier, and rescue and recovery efforts on both sides of the border significantly more challenging once teams have arrived.