‘Race against time’: what the papers say after the Turkey-Syria earthquake

The aftermath of the earthquake that struck on both sides of the Turkey-Syria border dominates Tuesday’s newspapers.

The front page of the Guardian shows the anguish of a girl in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Now rescued, she was one of an unknown number of people who remain trapped after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Just over 24 hours since the earthquake hit, the death toll passed 4,300.

The Times uses the same picture as the Guardian, with the headline “Giant earthquake kills thousands in their sleep”. The front page draws attention to the destruction in a region that has long been plagued by war, and mentions Britain’s efforts to fly in rescue and aid workers.

The Financial Times shows another image of a person rescued from a crumpled building and says “Thousands dead after biggest quake in 84 years shakes Turkey and Syria”. It says “hundreds of families are still trapped under the rubble in Syria’s north-west Idlib province”.

The Daily Telegraph leads with UK news; however its front page picture is people scrambling to pull survivors from the wreckage.

The story of the earthquake also runs second to local news in the Daily Mail, with a headline over the picture reading “Desperate rescue efforts of the innocent”. It shows a rescuer cradling a young girl.

The Daily Mirror frames the rescue of a child from the rubble as a “moment of hope amid the terror”. There are fears the death toll will rise to 10,000, it says, as Turkey and Syria “are devastated” and rescuers “race against time” to save people.

The Sun splashes with the words “Help them”, promoting an appeal to assist the response. It uses the same picture as the Guardian and the Times.

France’s Le Monde also shows rescuers lifting a child to safety, with a headline that translates as “Deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria”.

Photograph: Le Monde

Under the headline, “Earthquake devastates Turkey, Syria”, the Washington Post looks at the situation on the ground in Syria’s Idlib province, saying it has exacerbated an “already dire situation in rebel-held northwest”.

The UAE’s National newspaper carries a huge image of rescue efforts in Diyarbakir in south-eastern Turkey, with the headline, “Devastation as Turkey and Syria struck by earthquake”.

Accompanied by an aerial image of the devastation in Hatay, Turkey, Israel’s Haaretz highlights that Benjamin Netanyahu has made a “rare overture of aid to Syria”.

The New Indian Express warns that “fatalities could even cross 10,000”, and India would be sending two rescue teams “comprising 100 personnel”.