Quake in Turkey kills 7, topples buildings

ANKARA: A 5.6 magnitude earthquake killed seven people in eastern Turkey late Wednesday, less than three weeks after a massive quake killed more than 600 in the same area, a government disaster management centre said.

Twenty-three people were found alive from the wreckage and seven lost their lives during the quake, according to the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

The earlier toll announced by the deputy prime minister, Besir Atalay, stood at five.

It was not clear how many people were trapped under the rubble.

Television footage showed rescue teams trying to find possible survivors.

The quake occurred at 1923 GMT, with the epicentre in the Edremit district, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Van province, according to the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory. The USGS put the magnitude at 5.6, after having earlier put it at 5.7.

The quake collapsed 25 buildings, 22 of which were empty, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said from the scene.

Two of the collapsed buildings were hotels, private NTV television said. One six-storey hotel in the Van city centre was mostly occupied by journalists and teams from the Turkish Red Crescent.

The number of people in the hotels was not known, which was why the toll might rise. (AFP)