Turkey-Syria earthquake: Fire at Turkey port adds to quake disruption

A huge fire at one of Turkey's main ports has been extinguished, the defence ministry has said.

The blaze at Iskenderun, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, was caused by Monday's earthquakes that have devastated parts of the country.

Hundreds of shipping containers had caught fire, sending an enormous plume of dense, black smoke into the sky.

Despite claims the fire had been put out, a BBC reporter saw it still smouldering on Wednesday morning.

The defence ministry said military helicopters and planes were used to help bring the fire under control when fighting the flames from the land and sea did not work.

All operations were shut down at the port, and major shipping firms were forced to divert their vessels to other terminals in the region. When they will be able to return to Iskenderun is unknown.

Despite the size of the fire, the flames did not spread to a section where flammable materials were stored, a source from the port told Reuters news agency.