7.2 quake in Turkey kills 217, collapses buildings

Mangalore Today News Network

Ankara, oct 24, 2011 :  Rescue teams on Monday sifted through rubble of flattened multistory buildings to try to reach dozens of people believed trapped beneath after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey. The Interior Minister said the death toll in the powerful quake has increased to 217.

Hundreds of rescue teams worked throughout the night searching for survivors among dozens of pancaked buildings, as aid groups scrambled to set up tents, field hospitals and kitchens to assist thousands left homeless.

Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said about 80 multistory buildings collapsed in the city of Ercis alone when the earthquake struck Sunday. He said some 40 buildings still had people trapped inside, giving rise to fears that the death toll could increase substantially. The minister did not give any estimates.

The hardest-hit area was Ercis, an eastern city of 75,000 close to the Iranian border and on one of Turkey’s most earthquake-prone zones. The bustling city of Van, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Ercis, also sustained substantial damage. Highways in the area caved in.

Sahin said 117 were killed in Ercis, another 100 died in Van while some 740 people were injured.

 

 

U.S. scientists recorded over 100 aftershocks in eastern Turkey within 10 hours of the quake, including one with a magnitude of 6.0.

Authorities advised people to stay away from damaged homes, warning they could collapse in the aftershocks.

Residents spent the night outdoors and lit campfires, while the Red Crescent began setting up tents in a stadium. Others sought shelter with relatives in nearby villages.

Rescue efforts went deep into the night under generator-powered floodlights. Workers tied steel rods around large concrete slabs in Van, then lifted them with heavy machinery.

Indians safe in quake-hit Turkey

New Delhi, Oct 24: All Indians are safe in Turkey that was rocked by a massive earthquake, the government said Monday.

"As per information available with the Indian embassy in Ankara, Indian nationals are reportedly safe," the external affairs ministry said here.

There are around 300 Indians in Turkey.The Indian embassy has also set up a helpline to help Indians.

The helplines are: Phone: +90 530 4403216 (during office hours); +90 5303142200 (outside office hours). They can also be contacted at dcm@indembassy.org.tr

At least 138 bodies have been found after a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit Turkey’s southeastern Van province Sunday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said early Monday. More than 350 people were injured in the quake, he told Turkey’s TRT television.