Ancient City of Aleppo, Minaret of Great Mosque Damaged by Earthquake, Reports Resident

ALEPPO (Sputnik) - The Ancient City of Aleppo, including the minaret of the citadel's Great Mosque, as well as its towers and walls, were seriously damaged in the earthquake, a local resident told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On Monday, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake with several powerful aftershocks, followed by another earthquake, rattled parts of Turkey and Syria, toppling thousands of homes and killing over 6,000 in both countries.

"I was told that the minaret of the mosque, which is inside the citadel of Aleppo, was damaged. The stones of the observation tower also collapsed, the walls were damaged too. No one is allowed into the area," the local resident said.

He added that other buildings of the Ancient City were damaged as well.

"There is a very old mosque 50 meters from the citadel... Its minaret collapsed," the resident said.

In Aleppo's historical center, rescue teams are still clearing debris and searching for survivors, the resident added.

"This is Baron Street in central Aleppo. The building collapsed during the earthquake. Rescuers are still looking for survivors. Police said they found one survivor 30 minutes ago. He was immediately taken to the hospital," he said.

Earlier in the day, UNESCO said it would invite its experts to assess the damage caused by the earthquake to objects of cultural heritage in Turkey and Syria, including the fortress of Gaziantep and the citadel of Aleppo.

In 1986, Aleppo's citadel was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site among other monuments of the Ancient City.