Ammon News - The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that struck on February 6 surpassed 50,000 on Friday after Turkey declared more than 44,000 people had died.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the death toll in Turkey due to the earthquakes had risen to 44,218 on Friday night.

With Syria's latest announced death toll of 5,914, the combined death toll in the two countries rose above 50,000.

UN officials had previously warned that the number of people killed in the disaster could exceed 50,000.

Tremors are still being felt in the region, which has also been facing freezing conditions, with temperatures dropping below 0°C overnight, affecting people who lost their homes.

More recently, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake tore through Turkey's Hatay province, centred in the town of Defne, on Monday.

Meanwhile, a Turkish government official said work had begun to rebuild homes following the devastating earthquakes.