This is the heartwarming moment a little girl was rescued from the earthquake rubble of a collapsed building in the city of Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, on February 7.

The catastrophic magnitude 7.8 quake, measured at a depth of 24.1 kilometres, hit 23 kilometres east of Nurdagi in Gaziantep province at around 4 am on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said.

Several aftershocks, including quakes of magnitudes 6.7 and 7.5, struck the same region hours after.

As of Wednesday evening, at least 11,116 had been confirmed dead. At least 8,574 were found in Turkey, while at least 2,542 casualties were in neighbouring Syria.

World Health Organization officials warned that the death toll could climb up to 20,000. Turkey's disaster management office confirmed that more than 5,775 buildings had collapsed as rescue teams raced to find survivors.

The tragic earthquake is said to be among the strongest to hit Turkey in the last century.