Thinly stretched rescue teams worked through the night in Turkey and Syria, pulling more bodies from the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The death toll rose Wednesday to more than 9,400, making the quake the deadliest in more than a decade.

Turkey's disaster management agency said the country's death toll had risen to 6,957, bringing the overall total to 9,487, including fatalities reported in neighbouring Syria, since Monday's earthquake and multiple aftershocks. The death toll in government-held areas of Syria has climbed to 1,250, with 2,054 injured, according to the Health Ministry. At least 1,280 people have died in the rebel-held northwest, according to volunteer first responders known as the White Helmets, with more than 2,600 injured.