Turkey quake killed up 1,000 people

An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey Sunday, with a seimological institute estimating up to 1,000 people could lie dead under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings.

The powerful quake, the strongest to hit the country in years, and its aftershocks struck Van, a large eastern city populated mainly by Kurds.

“500 to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake,” Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told a news conference.

Earlier reports did not speak of casualties but many were feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and officials warned they were struggling to assess the extent of the damage.

At least 50 people were taken to hospital in Van, Anatolia news agency said.

“There is serious human and material loss,” said a brief statement from the the national disaster body.

“Many multi-floor buildings, hotels and a dormitory were collapsed,” said Veysel Keser, a local official from Van.

“We can hear voices from the collapsed buildings,” he said.

Television footage showed collapsed buildings and vehicles, with residents rushing in panic in the streets.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck around 1041 GMT, was at Tabanli in Van province, the Kandilli institute said.

The Turkish institute said that there were two aftershocks which in particular impacted on Ilikaynak and Gedikbulak villages.

The city airport received damage from the quake, but it did not disrupt the air traffic, quoting civilian airflight authorities.

Van, a city of 380,000 inhabitants is located more than 1,200 kilometres from the capital Ankara.