ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A powerful 7.2-magnitude
earthquake struck eastern Turkey Sunday, collapsing about 45 buildings
according to the deputy prime minister.
Only one death was immediately confirmed, but
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. The
city of Van also suffered substantial damage.
"Around 10 buildings have collapsed in the
city of Van and around 25 or 30 have collapsed in Ercis, including a
dormitory," Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
Atalay said authorities had no information yet on
remote villages, adding that the governor was now touring the region by
helicopter to assess damage. The quake's epicenter was in the village of
Tabanli.
Authorities did not provide a casualty figure but
the Kandilli observatory, Turkey's main seismography center, said the quake was
capable of killing many more people.
"We are estimating a death toll between 500
and 1,000," Mustafa Erdik, head of the Kandilli observatory, told a televised
news conference. His estimate was based on the structure of the housing in the
area and the strength of the quake.
The Turkish Red Crescent said its rescuers pulled
several injured people out of the collapsed dormitory in Ercis, which sits on a
geological fault line.
In Van, a bustling city with many apartment
buildings, at least 50 people were treated in the courtyard of the state
hospital, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
"There are so many dead. Several buildings
have collapsed. There is too much destruction," Zulfikar Arapoglu, the
mayor of Ercis, told NTV television. "We need urgent aid. We need
medics."
Serious damage and casualties were also reported in
the district of Celebibag, near Ercis.
"There are many people under the rubble,"
Veysel Keser, mayor of Celebibag, told NTV. "People are in agony, we can
hear their screams for help. We need urgent help."
"It's a great disaster," he said.
"Many buildings have collapsed, student dormitories, hotels and gas
stations have collapsed."
Some houses also collapsed in the province of
Bitlis, where at least one person, an 8-year-old girl was killed, authorities
said. The quake also toppled the minarets of two mosques in the nearby province
of Mus, reports said.
NTV said Van's airport was damaged and planes were
being diverted to neighboring cities.
Terrified residents spilled into the streets in
panic as rescue workers and residents using their bare hands and shovels
struggled to find people believed to be trapped under collapsed buildings, television
footage showed.
Several Cabinet ministers headed to the area as
authorities mobilized rescue teams across the country.
The quake had a depth of 20 kilometers (12.4
miles), which is relatively shallow and could potentially cause more damage.
Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is
crossed by fault lines.
In 1999, about 18,000 people were killed by two
powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Turkey. Authorities blamed shoddy
construction for many of the deaths.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
( AP
Photo/ Abdurrahman Antakyali, Aatolia)
