The full extent of the havoc wreaked by Turkey's devastating earthquake began to emerge late yesterday as the death toll rose to more than 3,800 and geologists upgraded their estimate of the strength of the tremor to 7.4.
The government crisis centre had counted 3,839 dead and nearly 19,000 injured by late yesterday, but the toll was expected to rise as rescuers continued to sift through the rubble for possible survivors.
Worst hit was Izmit on the Marmara Sea, where some 2,000 people were believed dead and 5,000 were injured, while the death toll stood at over 700 in neighbouring Sakarya and 400 in Yalova on the Marmara shore.
In Istanbul some 460 people died and more than 5,000 were injured. Scores of people were killed in Bolu, Bursa and Zonguldak.
Among the dead were three Germans, diplomats in Ankara said. Another three Germans were presumed dead under the rubble, while three others were listed as missing.
One German victim was on holiday with his Turkish wife when the quake struck, while the others were employees of German firms in Turkey.
The Kandilli seismic institute upgraded its original estimate of the tremor from 6.7 to 7.4 on the Richter scale, making Tuesday's quake the strongest in Turkey in more than 20 years. "We are facing the greatest natural disaster in the history of the Turkish republic," Housing and Civil Works Minister, Mr Koray Aydin, told parliament. .