DUSHANBE, October 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — Rescue teams are desperately searching for people trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake hit Turkey”s eastern Van region on Sunday, the BBC reports.
More than 200 people died and 1,000 were injured in the 7.2 magnitude quake, many of them in the town of Ercis, where dozens of buildings fell.
International media outlets report the death toll is expected to rise in the coming hours.
The earthquake struck at 13:41 (10:41 GMT) at a depth of 20 kilometers, with its epicenter 16 kilometers north-east of Van in eastern Turkey, the US Geological Survey said. It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, also centered north of Van, including two of magnitude 5.6 soon after the quake and one of 6.0 late on Sunday.
According to the BBC, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been visiting the affected area by helicopter. He said that villages close to Van were the worst affected as most buildings there were made of clay bricks. The prime minister thanked other countries for their offers of help but said Turkey could cope with the disaster on its own.
Up to 80 buildings, including a dormitory, collapsed in the town of Ercis, about 60 kilometers north of Van, while 10 fell in Van itself. Town mayor Zulfikar Arapoglu appealed for help. “We need urgent aid, we need medics,” he said.
Ambulances, soldiers and rescue teams rushed to the town, Reuters reported.
According to the Associated Press, survivors complained of a lack of heavy machinery to remove chunks of cement floors that had pancaked on to each other.
Serious damage and casualties were also reported in the district of Celebibag, near Ercis. “There are many people under the rubble,” said the local mayor, Veysel Keser. “People are in agony, we can hear their screams for help. We need urgent help.”
The head of Turkey”s seismology institute said hundreds of people could have been killed. “We estimate around 1,000 buildings are damaged and our estimate is for hundreds of lives lost – it could be 500 or 1000,” said Mustafa Erdik of the Kandilli Observatory.
Residents of Van and Ercis have been spending the night huddled around camp fires in the open air, fearing more aftershocks.
The quake cut electricity and telephone lines and the authorities in some areas have cut gas to avoid the risk of fire.
