In pictures: Syria dam disaster

A search and rescue operation using helicopters and rafts is under way in northern Syria after a dam burst causing flooding and massive damage.

At least 10 people are known to have died. President Bashar al-Assad has promised compensation for victims and the Syrian Government has ordered an investigation.

The collapse released millions of cubic metres of water, flooding several villages to a depth of four metres before receding.

Very little is left of the dam across the Orontes river

People returned to find devastation in their villages

As well as the 10 lives lost, the disaster has ruined thousands of hectares of farmland, just weeks before harvest

Many villagers were saved after word spread about cracks appearing in the Zeyzoun dam before it burst

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed or badly damaged

Angry residents are calling for those responsible for the collapse of the six-year-old dam to be punished