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Another earthquake hit Turkey early Tuesday morning after two others devastated the country and its neighbour Syria a day earlier, killed more than 5,000 people, and trapped scores more under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 1.2 miles in central Turkey, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, as rescue efforts continued and as the death toll in Turkey alone rose past 3,400.

A winter storm causing freezing temperatures has been hampering those working desperately to free people from the rubble of destroyed buildings, with the cold weather making the need to reach trapped survivors even more urgent. The World Health Organisation has warned the toll could hit 20,000 as search efforts continue.

In the badly hit Turkish city of Hatay, residents helplessly called out as the screams and shouts of those freezing under the rubble filled the air. Desperate to reach them in time, rescuers have been digging with their bare hands.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands have been left homeless and sleeping in their cars or searching for temporary accommodation after thousands of buildings were brought down on both sides of the border, pouring misery on an area already plagued by war, insurgency, refugee crises and a recent cholera outbreak.