Rescue workers have pulled 23 survivors from the rubble in eastern Turkey after a 5.7-magnitude quake killed least seven people and left dozens of others trapped.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Wednesday's quake toppled 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of them were occupied since the others have been evacuated after suffering damages in last month's powerful tremor.
The quake, which struck at 9:23 p.m. (1923 GMT, 2:23 p.m. EST) Wednesday, knocked down 25 buildings in Van, but only two buildings, both hotels, were occupied because others were evacuated after the first quake, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
“We focused on these two wreckage sites and are working with all our force” to find survivors, he said.
Atalay said on Thursday that the rescue work was concentrating at the site of two collapsed hotels and one apartment building. The disaster management authority said 23 survivors were pulled out along with the bodies of seven people.
One of the collapsed buildings was the Bayram Hotel, Van's best-known hotel. It was at least 40 years old, and had been renovated last year.
Turkey's Dogan news agency said two of its reporters were missing.
Some foreign rescue workers who scrambled to help the survivors of the previous quake were also staying at the same hotel.
Rescue workers with pickaxes and earth-movers searched on Thursday for survivors of an earthquake that leveled a downtown hotel in the same Turkish province that was hit by a deadly temblor last month. At least eight people, including a Japanese aid worker, were killed in the new quake.
Some 26 people were rescued in overnight digging in the provincial capital of Van in eastern Turkey. Some of those trapped in the rubble were foreign aid workers and Turkish journalists working in the aftermath of the powerful quake on Oct. 23 that killed about 600 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.7 and that its epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of Van.
Two earthquakes in 1999 with a magnitude of more than 7 killed almost 20,000 people in densely populated parts of the north-west of the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Wednesday's quake toppled 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of them were occupied since the others have been evacuated after suffering damages in last month's powerful tremor.
The quake, which struck at 9:23 p.m. (1923 GMT, 2:23 p.m. EST) Wednesday, knocked down 25 buildings in Van, but only two buildings, both hotels, were occupied because others were evacuated after the first quake, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
“We focused on these two wreckage sites and are working with all our force” to find survivors, he said.
Atalay said on Thursday that the rescue work was concentrating at the site of two collapsed hotels and one apartment building. The disaster management authority said 23 survivors were pulled out along with the bodies of seven people.
One of the collapsed buildings was the Bayram Hotel, Van's best-known hotel. It was at least 40 years old, and had been renovated last year.
Turkey's Dogan news agency said two of its reporters were missing.
Some foreign rescue workers who scrambled to help the survivors of the previous quake were also staying at the same hotel.
Some 26 people were rescued in overnight digging in the provincial capital of Van in eastern Turkey. Some of those trapped in the rubble were foreign aid workers and Turkish journalists working in the aftermath of the powerful quake on Oct. 23 that killed about 600 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.7 and that its epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of Van.
About 1,400 aftershocks have rocked the region since the massive earthquake on Oct. 23. Many residents had been living in tents, despite the cold, too afraid to return to their homes.
Mr Gur said many people are now leaving Van in search of a safer place.
Mr Gur said many people are now leaving Van in search of a safer place.
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