ERCIS: This eastern Turkish town was in a state of shock Monday, a day after a devastating earthquake struck, killing 169 of its residents and causing widespread damage.
A total of 264 people were confirmed to have been killed by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake which hit eastern Turkey around lunchtime on Sunday, according to Idris Naim Sener, the country's interior minister.
Monday, rescuers were pressing on with their search for survivors but also bodies.
In this town of 74,000 people, fully or partially destroyed buildings can be seen everywhere. One four-story building has collapsed like a house of cards, another has lost a wall. Surprisingly, other flimsy-looking buildings are still standing.
Yunus Ozmen, 23, was in one such building when he felt the floor start to shake.
"We didn't understand - all of a sudden there was dust everywhere, our eyes were full of it, we were thrown around into walls and furniture. It lasted 20 seconds," he explains.
A series of powerful aftershocks forced Ercis inhabitants to abandon their homes and sleep in the street, despite the sub-zero temperatures.
"We spent the night outside in the street and made a fire to stay warm," says Yunus.
Civil servant Abdul Hadi Isik, a neighbour of Yunus, was not so lucky. While his own house stayed standing, his uncle's house is now a pile of concrete and iron, with the odd curtain or piece of furniture poking out.
"My aunt and two of her children are underneath. There is no hope left," says the 50-year-old. He points to a young man with red eyes scouring the rubble with a stick: "He is searching for his mother."
Using electrical pliers, rescuers patiently cut through iron rods holding concrete blocks together while other people start to sweep up the mess. Mazan Sakabet, a colonel, arrives to help with a team of 150 rescuers from Azerbaijan.
"For the moment, we have pulled out five bodies and other rescuers further away have found some survivors," he explains. "But we have finished in this spot. We sent dogs out, they didn't find any survivors. So now we are looking for three bodies," he says.
Help has arrived swiftly - the town football pitch has been turned into a sea of tents set up by the Red Crescent and volunteers are distributing water and bread.
Military helicopters circulate overhead as ambulances shuttle people between hospitals in neighbouring towns. A Turkish army convoy has arrived carrying water supplies.
At Ercis hospital reception, families are directed. "Injured are on the right, dead on the left" a man shouts.
Filled with hope, people looking for friends and relatives turn right, before coming back out to turn left and walking with dread towards the hangar where bodies are laid out.
One young man runs out of the building in tears. "Dad is dead!" he cries into his telephone.
"They didn't let me see his face -they said he was unrecognisable. But it was his hair, his clothes," sobs another young woman, a few steps away.
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