An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 rocked eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 14 people and causing some buildings to collapse. The quake injured more than 505 and left several trapped, Turkish officials said.
The quake struck at 8: 90 pm local time near the town of Sivrice in the eastern Elazig province, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said. It was followed by several aftershocks, the strongest with magnitudes 5.4 and 5.1.
Elazig is some miles east of the capital, Ankara.
Governor Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told NTV television that three people died in the province. State-run Anadolu Agency quoted Governor Aydin Barus as saying five other people died in his nearby Malatya province.
At least (people were injured in Elazig and in Malatya. Kaldirim said a fire broke out in a building in Sivrice but was quickly brought under control. People in Elazig whose homes were damaged or were too afraid to go indoors were being moved to student dormitories or sports center amid freezing conditions.
Earlier, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told NTV television that rescuers were trying to reach survivors after a four- or five-story building collapsed in the town of Maden, in Elazig. Approximately 4-5 buildings collapsed in Sivrice, where two people were hurt, he said.
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