Turkey: earthquake kills at least 3, dozens trapped in area hit by deadly temblor last month
An earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Wednesday night, killing at least three people and leaving dozens trapped in the rubble of toppled buildings damaged in a previous temblor, which had killed 600 people.
About two-dozen buildings collapsed in the provincial capital of Van following a 5.7-magnitude quake, though most of them were empty or had been declared unfit because they were weakened by the earlier quake, according to media reports.
In a grim replay of scenes from last month’s quake in the same region, men climbed onto piles of debris and frantically clawed at twisted steel and crumbled concrete in an attempt to find survivors.Voices could be heard calling for help from under the debris, according to Turkish media.
Rescue workers used the glare of high-powered lights to work through the night. There were several aftershocks.
A small fire broke out at a hospital but all patients were safely evacuated.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was in Van to visit survivors of the previous quake on the last day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice. He said 15 people were rescued alive and transported to hospitals by air ambulance.
Davutoglu said rescue teams were searching for survivors under the wreckage of three buildings, and that 22 of the 25 buildings that collapsed in Van were empty.