Nothing could prepare frantic residents who rushed out onto the streets for the scenes of devastation that awaited them.

The town of Izmit, near the epicentre, felt the full force of the tremor. Many locals fled the area and those who remained were setting up tents to replace the homes they had lost.

Fahrettin Duman was working alongside a mechanical digger as he struggled to pull fallen masonry away from an apartment block near his own house in the town.

"There are some eight people trapped in the staircase near the entrance, but even with this machine we can't reach them. There's no sign of life," he said.

'How many dead family do I have?'

It was the same story across the earthquake zone as survivors tore at mangled steel and concrete to free loved ones.

In Istanbul, middle-aged father-of-four Muzaffer Yarla was sitting on his balcony enjoying the early morning air, when his seven-storey building collapsed - trapping his wife, three children and daughter-in-law inside.

Buildings came tumbling down like a pack of cards

The balcony was ripped from the building, hurling Mr Yarla into the street.

Nearly comatose and strapped to a stretcher, he could only watch as workers raced to save an estimated 10 people trapped in the debris.

"How many dead family do I have, I fear I have many," he told Reuters.

The news agency reports that minutes later, rescue workers came upon a pair of bare feet - clearly lifeless.

There was silence until neighbours struck up a loud wail as news of the death was whispered to the waiting crowd.

'Everything started collapsing'

The town of Golcuk on the Marmara Sea - home to one of Turkey's largest naval bases - saw over 20 sailors perish in the disaster.

But civilians did not manage to escape the force of the violent earthquake.

At least 60 people were reported killed as they slept in the city centre and 100 more were injured.

Hamza and Sema Bikbay were two of the lucky ones.

This mother and child were among the lucky ones

Rescuers managed to pull them alive from the ruins of their five-storey apartment building outside Golcuk.

Hamza Bikbay told the Associated Press: "Everything started collapsing. "We held hands ... and I said: 'Okay, we're dying."'

But by midday, the couple were still the only people to have been rescued from the rubble.

Rescuers had still to reach dozens of collapsed buildings by early afternoon, and the town's Mayor, Ismail Baris, said he feared many more people were still trapped.

"We desperately need help, from machines to food - everything," he said.

Relief

But there were some signs of hope amid the destruction.

Residents of another damaged building in Istanbul appeared to have been saved by a stroke of luck.

Their four-storey apartment block fell sideways, allowing them to survive in small alcoves of space.

Neighbours broke into applause as rescuers came upon the tiny feet of a five-year-old boy, Muhammed, poking through a hole in the side of the building.

Muhammed screamed: "I want my mummy," as firefighters carried him from the rubble.