British travellers to Turkey have been warned to avoid the area after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey.
Amid a rising death toll, hundreds of people were reported to have been killed with thousands injured as buildings collapsed.
A second earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, struck in the Elbistan district of Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province.
Elbistan lies around 80 miles directly north of the city of Gaziantep, the epicentre of the first quake.
The early morning earthquake struck early on Monday destroying many buildings, with tremors reported as far away as Cyprus and Lebanon.
The Foreign Office updated its travel advice at 3am to confirm that Gaziantep and nine neighbouring provinces in the south east of Turkey had been hit.
The alert said: “There have been several strong after-shocks. You should avoid the immediate vicinity and follow the advice of the local authorities.”
In a later update, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, said: “There have been several strong after-shocks and the Turkish government has announced its highest level of state emergency.”
The affected region is close to the border with Syria where more than 40 people were killed, according to state media.