At least 21 people killed and more than 1,000 injured in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey, where rescuers continued this Saturday to search for survivors in collapsed buildings. At least 30 people were stranded in the rubble following a violent earthquake on Friday evening in the Sivrice district of Elazig province.
“It was scary, the furniture fell on us. We rushed outside,” said Melahat Can, 47, a resident of Elazig. “We are going to spend the next few days on a farm outside the city.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that “all necessary measures” would be taken to assist the areas hit by the quake and that he had dispatched several ministers to the area.
“With all of our institutions, including AFAD and the Red Crescent, we stand alongside our people,” he tweeted.
Sports halls, schools and libraries have opened to accommodate people who fled their homes after the earthquake, authorities said.
# Elazığ’Da meydana gelen ve pek çok ilimizde hissedilen depremin en az kayıpla atlatılması ve vatandaşlarımızın can güvenliğinin sağlanması için ilgili kurumlarımız gerekli tüm tedbirleri almaktadır. Çevre ve Şehircilik, İçişleri ve Sağlık Bakanlarımızı bölgeye gönderdik.
– Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) January 24, 2020
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30 recorded aftershocks
AFAD said that at least thirty aftershocks of the earthquake had been recorded thereafter and that more than 400 teams of rescuers had been dispatched on the spot.
“We have dispatched four teams to the region,” said Recep Salci of the Turkish Search and Rescue Association (AKUT). “We have learned that buildings have collapsed, we are preparing to send other teams if necessary.”
No estimate of the number of residents inside the collapsed buildings was immediately available.
The earthquake was felt in several regions of eastern Turkey, including Tunceli, said the TV channel NTV. The main Turkish telecommunications companies have announced that they will provide residents of affected areas with free telephone and internet services.
Turkey, located in one of the most active seismic zones in the world, is frequently affected by earthquakes. The last powerful earthquake to hit Turkey (7.1 on the Richter scale) occurred in 2011 in the province of Van (east), killing more than 600 people.
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