Sun | May 17, 2026

Death toll climbing after earthquake

Published:Monday | October 24, 2011 | 12:00 AM
People rescue a woman trapped under debris after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province, yesterday, according to the deputy Turkish prime minister. As many as 138 people have already been reported dead and scientists estimated that up to 1,000 people could have been killed. The worst damage was caused to the town of Ercis, in the mountainous eastern province of Van, close to the Iranian border. - AP photo
Up to late yesterday, rescue workers were still digging through the rubble in sections of eastern Turkey where a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit killing at least 138 people as buildings collapsed.

The quake struck close to the city of Van, where one news agency said at least 50 people were injured.

Rescuers were scrambling to pull people from dozens of collapsed buildings in Van and other nearby towns.

Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines.

Two earthquakes in 1999 with a magnitude of more than seven killed almost 20,000 people in densely populated parts of the north-west of the country.

Turkish television was also reporting that several prisoners had escaped from a prison damaged by the earthquake.-AP