More than 20,000 people are known to have died after Monday's earthquake, which has devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Turkey's disaster and emergency management authority says the death toll in the country is now 17,134.

In Syria, at least 3,162 people are known to have died.

Image source, Pool

The UK prime minister has donated hats, scarves and blankets to survivors of the earthquake.

Rishi Sunak visited a donation centre in London set up by students from University College London's Turkish Society. He packed items ready to go to Turkey and Syria and praised the students for helping.

He told reporters: "It's really hard, actually, to comprehend the scale of the tragedy that has happened. As a dad, watching parents try and find their young children in the rubble is heartbreaking."

Rescue workers have managed to save a small dog trapped under debris in Iskenderun in Turkey.

Pamuk was dug out of the rubble after being trapped for two days.

The pet's owner is reported to be in hospital in another part of the country, so for now is being looked after by neighbours.

If you're just joining us or need a recap, here's an update of some of today's key developments from the aftermath of Monday's earthquakes.

• Rescuers in Turkey and Syria are continuing the painstaking work of sifting through the rubble to find survivors, but many days later hope is fading
• The first convoy of aid for opposition-held north-western Syria has crossed into the territory from Turkey, having been halted for days due to road damage and logistical issues. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirmed that six trucks carrying shelter and other relief supplies had arrived, but warned much more assistance was needed
• The number of people who have died from the earthquakes in both Turkey and Syria is now approaching 20,000. The death toll in Turkey is currently at 16,546, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while in Syria at least 3,162 deaths have been reported.
• The World Health Organization has warned that the threat to life as a result of the earthquakes continues, and that without shelter, water, fuel or electricity many survivors could yet lose their lives. It says that there’s a danger a "secondary disaster" could occur
• An appeal has been launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). The committee is a collective of 15 UK charities – including Oxfam, Save the Children UK and the British Red Cross – and the funds raised will go towards medical aid, shelter, food and clean water, as well as blankets, warm clothes and heaters. More information can be found here, external.

Getting aid to the disaster-hit areas of southern Turkey and north-western Syria is crucial as survivors are stuck without the bare essentials like water and food.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

Madeline Halpert
BBC News in New York

Image source, Ozge Ovun-Sert

When Ozge Ovun-Sert saw footage of people being pulled from the rubble after the devastating earthquake on Monday, it took her back to when her family was forced to evacuate after a 1999 earthquake in her home country of Turkey.

Ovun-Sert was 22 when the earthquake hit her town of Izmit, killing more than 17,000 people.

She has felt helpless at times this week watching from her new home in the US as so many suffer, but she has tried to turn the helplessness into action.

“These people need us,” she said.

Together with other members of the American Turkish Association of Washington, DC, Ovun-Sert is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid and packing boxes with emergency supplies to be sent to help. The group's umbrella organisation, Turkish Philanthropy Funds, has raised more than $3 million (£2.46m).

“This is what we’re focusing on right now, instead of focusing on how we cannot be with our loved ones,” she said.

From smiling toddlers freed from the rubble to big cheers for a whole family brought to safety, here's six rescues that offer hope to Turkey and Syria.

The UK government has pledged at least £3m to support search and rescue operations and provide emergency relief in the parts of Syria most badly affected by Monday's earthquake.

In a statement, the British government says it will be providing the White Helmets the funding "to aid their major search and rescue operations".

The humanitarian group has been providing support to civilians in north-west Syria, a rebel-controlled region of the country. It previously appealed for help, saying it was a "race against time".

Image source, Reuters

Video has emerged of a rescuer using a tube to speak to a woman trapped under rubble and give her water.

The worker says he can see Zainab lying around 1.5 metres (5ft) from him.

"I can see her and I can see her breathing and talk to her and try and get a response," he said.

He then points to the tube saying the rescuers try "to comfort her and get a bit of relief" while colleagues work to free her.

The Earth's crust is made up of separate parts, called plates, which nestle alongside one another.

These plates lie on top of a partially molten layer of rock. They would move around but are prevented by the friction of rubbing up against each other. Sometimes the pressure builds until one plate suddenly jerks across, causing the Earth's surface to move.

In this case it was the Arabian Plate moving northwards and grinding against the Anatolian Plate.

Friction from the plates has been responsible for very damaging earthquakes in the same region in the past.

On 13 August 1822 it caused an earthquake registering 7.4 in magnitude - albeit significantly less than the 7.8 magnitude quake recorded on Monday.

Even so, the 19th Century earthquake resulted in immense damage to towns in the area, with 7,000 deaths recorded in the Syrian city of Aleppo alone. Damaging aftershocks continued for nearly a year.

There have already been several aftershocks following the current earthquake and scientists are anticipating it may well follow the same trend as the 1822 tragedy.

Read more here.

Teacher Nesli Akarsu has described her family's escape from their 12th-floor apartment block in Hatay as "terrifying".

Speaking to Nick Robinson on Radio 4's Today programme, she says she was woken by the quake and immediately ran to her children's room.

As the walls collapsed around them in the darkness, she said she could hear screaming as they made what she describes as a "magical escape".

You can listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds here.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the death toll in his country has reached 16,546.

In Syria, at least 3,162 deaths have been reported.

It means the total number of those killed by Monday's earthquake is now approaching 20,000.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has confirmed that the first UN relief convoy has arrived in north-western Syria, but added that much more aid to the rebel-controlled area is needed.

In a statement, Mr Guterres said the convoy was made up of six trucks carrying shelter and other "desperately needed relief supplies".

"More help is on the way but much more, much more is needed," he said.

"We must put people first."

His words come after local Syrian volunteer organisation, the White Helmets, tweeted their disappointment that equipment needed for air rescue efforts had not been sent with the convoy.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Iskanderun

There was a brief moment of elation in Iskanderun today when rescue workers thought they heard a phone ringing from a fallen building as a woman tried to call someone under the rubble.

Frantic shouts of “telephone” came from the top of the mound of debris, before all men in the area were asked to come and help.

Onlookers rushed to help and the woman who had made the call ran up to join them.

She re-called the number repeatedly, rocking back and forth as the men searched.

The surrounding area fell silent with all heavy machinery switched off.

After about 20 minutes, the men filed back down the rubble, looking despondent.

People here are desperate to find more survivors, but hope is fading.

Lyse Doucet
Reporting from Osmaniye

The sense of loss in Osmaniye is palpable, painful. The bodies keep arriving at the main cemetery.

A coffin painted green passed us in the back of a pickup. A few minutes later, a tiny white shroud, a baby inside, was gently lifted from a minivan.

We’re told 400 people were buried here yesterday, in a resting place thick with tall pines and many tears .

Today’s toll is still rising. Beside white refrigerated containers serving as mobile morgues, a pile of newly-built coffins stands waiting. Some are made of pine, some MDF, some fashioned from old wardrobes - whatever material was at hand. Most are being used more than once.

Volunteers from all parts of Turkey have come to this city, about a two-hour drive from the earthquake’s epicentre, to do whatever they can to help.

One man, an imam said 100 other imams had come from five other cities. Others distribute packets of food, serve hot tea, wash bodies for burial, lend a shoulder to lean on.

Rozina Sini
BBC News

Resat Gozlu, who lives in Adiyaman province in south-eastern Turkey - an area badly impacted by the earthquake - has described the difficult situation he and others are facing there four days later.

Speaking to the BBC, Resat - who is staying on the floor of a packed sports complex with his family - says rescue teams did not arrive until three days after the earthquake hit, and claims they were stalled by a lack of coordination.

He says many people still remain trapped under the rubble and others have died of hypothermia.

While companies and individuals have provided food and water, basic amenities like toilets are not available, he adds. "People are going in the street or abandoned buildings.

“If this continues there could be serious health issues and illness."

This is the view from a plane flying through thick, black smoke after a fire reignited at one of Turkey's main ports.

The fire in Iskenderun, caused by Monday's earthquake, has been put out and reignited several times.

All operations have been shut down at the port and it's not clear when it will reopen.

Yesterday, authorities said the fire had been extinguished but the BBC has seen several planes trying to put out the flames since.

More than 19,300 people have died in Turkey and Syria following Monday's earthquakes.

Giving an updated death toll on Thursday afternoon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says 16,170 people have died in his country alone.

In Syria, 3,162 deaths have been reported.

The Visual Journalism Team
BBC News

Monday's earthquake in Turkey and Syria caused devastation across the region, killing thousands and destroying buildings and neighbourhoods in dozens of cities.

In Kahramanmaras, which is close to the epicentre, aerial photographs reveal the extent of the damage caused in just one of those neighbourhoods.

The large Gazi middle school near the stadium is still standing but looks badly damaged - two neighbouring residential tower blocks, next to the school, have completely collapsed.

On a normal Monday, some 2,000 students would have been attending lessons at the school.

But schools across the country are closed until 13 February after the first quake struck before dawn on Monday.

​​It is as you round the corner of Kuddusi Baba Boulevard and into the usually busy shopping street of Azerbaijan Boulevard that the full scale of destruction begins to unfold.

Our team has been working on special coverage of before and after pictures in the region, you can see more here.