The Tour of Antalya, which was scheduled to take place in Turkey this week, has been canceled due to a major earthquake that struck near Turkey and Syria at 4:17 a.m. local time on Monday.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck early Monday morning near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border; a second earthquake struck the same area nine hours later, and there is a risk of other quakes and aftershocks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the event as the country's worst earthquake disaster since 1939, when 32,000 people died. At least 1,500 people have been confirmed dead amid a massive rescue effort to save those trapped under collapsed buildings.

Antalya, located 800 km west of Gaziantep on the coast, is under a state of emergency as Turkey concentrates on rescuing victims of the earthquake and mourning those who lost their lives.

"The international cycling race, TOUR OF ANTALYA powered by AKRA, which was scheduled to take place from February 9-12, 2023, has been cancelled," race organizers announced Monday morning via social media.

"God have mercy on the citizens who lost their lives, condolences to their relatives, immediate medical attention to the injured, and we thank everyone for their understanding."

The Tour of Antalya was added to the cycling calendar for the first time in 2018; it is a 2.1 level race and is seen as an ideal early season race. The four-day race, from Thursday to Sunday, was to be led by Arnaud Demare for Groupama-FDJ, with many other WorldTour and pro teams on the start list.

Last year's race was won by Jacob Hinsgaard of Uno-X.