Maltese rescuers have got down to work in a Turkish town devastated by Monday's earthquake.

Rescuers at work.

The team is looking for survivors in a hotel which collapsed in Malatya. A total of 120 people are missing but the rescuers are in contact with at least eight people buried under the debris. 

The work is delicate and dangerous, owing to the state of the collapse, with conditions made worse by snow and cold temperatures.

The Maltese team is made up of 32 rescuers and a rescue dog. 

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck at 4.17am at a depth of about 18 kilometres near the Turkish city of Gaziantep. More than 5,000 people have been confirmed dead so far.

Several countries are rushing rescue teams to the area. They include Ukraine, which said on Tuesday that it is sending 87 rescuers to Turkey.

The Turkish embassy in Malta has appealed for donations to assist the survivors. Warm clothing items such as raincoats, boots, sweaters, gloves, and scarves for both children and adults are just some of the clothing items people can donate to the embassy in Malta.

Baby rescued from rubble in Syria

In Syria, extended family members pulled a newborn baby alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria, after finding her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday's massive quake, a relative said.

The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom were all killed when the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck Syria and neighbouring Turkey flattened the family home in the rebel-held town of Jindayris, Khalil al-Suwadi said.