A family of five has been found dead in the rubble of their quake-hit home in Turkey just days after they proudly moved in.

Dad Ismail Taskin, 40, had proudly posted a photo of the deed to the home on social media four days before the devastating tremors struck on 6th February.

But Ismail, his wife, Zeliha, 38, and their children – Sehernur, nine, Hanim, seven, and five-year-old Muhammed – died when the house collapsed around them.

Tragically, the family had survived the first earthquake to hit Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, when they fled the house.

But – according to local media – they died when they returned too soon and the house collapsed on top of them in the second quake.

Emergency workers are battling against the clock to save people from the rubble, with the international community sending in numerous experts to assist.

Turkey’s disaster agency has said that 12,873 people are dead and 62,937 injured in the country.

The total death toll in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 15,865 people, with the latest figures indicating more than 2,992 people dead in Syria.

World Health Organization officials have warned that the total death toll could reach 20,000.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck early on Monday morning in southern Turkey, devastating the south of the country and northern Syria, has been described by Turkish President Erdogan as one of the worst disasters in decades.

He visited the region for the first time on Wednesday (8th February).

A second earthquake of 7.6 magnitude hit the same region again at noon Monday, causing even more damage.

More than 11,000 buildings have reportedly collapsed in Turkey, with damage and destruction spanning a border region of approximately 650 miles.

Volunteer rescue workers in northern Syria have said that they lack the most basic equipment to rescue those trapped under the rubble of their homes.