[Updated] "Thousands" dead as powerful earthquake shakes Turkey, Syria

Even 'luxury' apartments had poor building standards and collapsed, leading to finger pointing and blame:
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Turkey earthquake: The warnings at the luxury apartments that turned to dust

Concerns were raised at the flats in Gaziantep, where 136 people died last week - the BBC has found.
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The Ayşe Mehmet Polat apartment complex is 24 years old. Four of its six blocks collapsed while other buildings around it stood tall.

We came to this site because we had heard that a man said to be the building's contractor had been arrested. He will later tell us through his lawyer he was doing nothing wrong and should bear no responsibility.
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As we return to the complex the next morning, emergency services reveal to us a shocking figure - 136 people are known to have died here as they slept.
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But what about these supposed concerns over the buildings' safety, I ask? Did he see this?

"In the car park, I witnessed the defects with my own eyes. When I touched the concrete columns it would crumble to dust in my hands, as though it wasn't concrete at all. Iron was rusting in the columns, the rainfall was damaging and corroded the iron."
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"Once you start to live in your flat, nothing happens. No inspection. Earthquake insurance and property insurance don't work either. The municipality doesn't make checks. No such thing as monitoring."
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The head of the organisation representing architects in Turkey, Eyüp Muhçu, tells us the ultimate responsibility for making sure buildings are safe rests with the Turkish government.

"The priority of the central government was not to make the cities safe, but to implement some projects that were solely planned for maximising profits. For this reason, 65% of the current building stock in Turkey is risky. And no measures have been implemented regarding these risky structures."
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"The scientists were shouting about it, this disaster is coming, but the government did almost nothing. We warned the cities, we warned them to prepare the rescue teams, but they did nothing and we live this catastrophe. They say this is destiny. No, it is not. In civilised countries these kinds of disasters happen but fewer people die. But here we have tens of thousands of people under the rubble."
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Mehmet Akay, the man whom authorities say was the building contractor for the Ayşe Mehmet Polat complex, was arrested on Saturday 11 February - five days after the earthquakes. He was stopped at Istanbul Airport as he tried to leave the country.

State prosecutors say he was the building contractor, but responding to questions put to him through his lawyer, Mr Akay claims he was the construction co-ordinator, but not the contractor. He also rejects accusations that cheap building materials were used.
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Sad footnote amid a great tragedy:
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Christian Atsu found dead after Turkey earthquake

Footballer Christian Atsu has been found dead under a collapsed building almost two weeks after the Turkey earthquake, his agent confirms.
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The Ghana international, 31, had spells with Premier League sides Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle.

Atsu had been missing since the 6 February quake that caused the collapse of his apartment in the city of Hatay.
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Atsu joined the Turkish top-flight side Hatayspor in September 2022 and scored the winning goal in a Super Lig match on 5 February.
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