TEHRAN, Apr. 05 (MNA) – The number of people killed by the devastating February earthquakes in the southeast of Turkey has reached 50,399, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday.

"The death toll is 50,399. The number may yet be updated," Soylu told reporters, Sputnik reported.

The identification of the bodies continues, he added.

On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 hit the southeastern regions of Turkey at a nine-hour interval, toppling thousands of homes.

The underground shocks followed by hundreds of aftershocks were felt in 11 Turkish provinces and in neighboring countries, especially in Syria.

MP/PR