The death toll from Monday's powerful earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 21,000.

The magnitude-7.8 quake and the tremors that followed have resulted in the deaths of more than 18,300 people in Turkey and over 3,300 people in Syria. The quakes have also injured at least 79,000 people in the two countries.

In Turkey, the southern province of Hatay was the worst-hit region, with more than 5,000 deaths.

In Hatay's main city of Antakya, the quakes caused buildings to collapse and left cracks in the roads. Many residents are living in shelters. Rescue operations are slow because of a shortage of heavy machinery.

People living near a collapsed four-story apartment building were trying to remove the rubble by hand. Of the building's 30 residents, only one has been rescued.

The 29-year-old survivor said his parents are still trapped under the rubble. He explained that he found his mother on Friday morning, but she was unresponsive to his calls. He stressed that he needs help quickly, and he wants to find his father as soon as possible.