In pictures: Syria and Turkey reeling as death toll nears 20,000

The death toll from huge earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday climbed to more than 19,300 on Thursday - surpassing that of Japan's Fukushima disaster - as hopes faded of finding survivors stuck under rubble in freezing weather.

The human cost of the tragedy is still yet to become fully clear, as rescue workers continue their work and eyewitnesses tell their stories. 

Disaster agencies said several thousand buildings had been flattened in cities across a vast border region, while new risks of floods sent parts of northern Syria into further panic.

For Syrians already plagued by war and a recent cholera outbreak, this has only intensified their suffering.

There have been some glimmers of hope as survivors are pulled out of the rubble, but it remains a time of overwhelming distress and mourning.