UPDATE: More than 230 dead in new Syria quake toll

Damascus – At least 237 people were killed in government-held areas of Syria on Monday after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that had its epicentre in southeastern Turkey, the Health Ministry said.

“Six hundred and thirty-nine people were injured and 237 were killed in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, a hospital told AFP the earthquake had killed at least eight people in the northern areas controlled by pro-Turkish factions — bringing the war-torn country’s total to at least 245 dead.