Survivors react after seeing the damage caused by an earthquake in the eastern Turkish city of Van on Sunday. The magnitude-7.2 earthquake may have killed up to 1,000 people as it triggered the collapse of dozens of buildings across the region, media reported the Kandilli Observatory as saying. [Photo by Abdurrahman Antakyali / Anadolu Agency Via Reuters]
Turkey's prime minister says the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey has killed at least 138 people.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Sunday's earthquake has killed at least 93 people in the city of Van and 45 people in the nearby town of Ercis. Rescuers search rubble for trapped people after buildings collapse
VAN, Turkey - Up to a 1,000 people are feared dead after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey on Sunday, triggering the collapse of dozens of buildings across the region, the Kandilli Observatory said.
Emergency workers battled to rescue people trapped in buildings in the city of Van and surrounding districts on the banks of Lake Van, near Turkey's border with Iran.
Some 10 buildings collapsed in Van city and about 25-30 buildings were brought to the ground in the nearby district of Ercis, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
"We estimate around 1,000 buildings are damaged and our estimate is for hundreds of lives lost. It could be 500 or 1,000," Kandilli Observatory general manager Mustafa Erdik told a news conference.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was traveling to Van and the cabinet was expected to discuss the quake at a meeting called for Monday morning.
"A lot of buildings collapsed, many people were killed, but we don't know the number. We are waiting for emergency help, it's very urgent," Zulfukar Arapoglu, the mayor of Ercis, told news broadcaster NTV.作者: davy10 时间: 2011-10-24 11:21
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