In northern Syria, two children were rescued after spending more than 36 hours under the rubble of their own house, destroyed by a powerful earthquake, CNN reports.. The earthquake started while they were sleeping and the children were trapped.

In total, there are three children in the family. The family's father, Mustafa Zuhir Al-Sayed, said they were all asleep when a magnitude 7.8 tremor shook the ground early in the morning.. This earthquake was the strongest in the region in over 100 years..

“We felt the ground tremble… rubble began to fall over our heads, and we stayed under the rubble for two days… We went through this feeling, which I hope no one will have to experience,” said Mustafa Zuhir Al-Sayed.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria now stands at at least 8,764, official figures show.. At least 34,810 injured in Turkey. In Syria, according to the latest data, 4,654 injured people were injured as a result of the earthquake.

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On February 6, an extremely strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck southeast Turkey, near the border with Syria.. Seismic waves were recorded by sensors around the world and could be observed spreading across Europe, including the UK..

As a result of the earthquake, buildings were destroyed, thousands of people died, there is also evidence of the destruction of gas pipelines, which led to fires.

Seismologist Jenny Jenkins from Durham University's Department of Geosciences explains why the February 6 quake was so devastating..