Earthquake kills dozens in Turkey

A strong earthquake killed at least 57 villagers in eastern Turkey before dawn yesterday, and aftershocks continued for hours afterwards while rescuers searched for trapped survivors.

People were sleeping in their mud-brick houses when the 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 4.32am local time (0232 GMT) in a sparsely-populated area of high steppe in Eastern Anatolia.

"There was a lot of fear and panic among the people. It lasted about a minute," Nursel Sengezer, a Dogan News Agency correspondent in Elazig province, told broadcaster CNN Turk. "We felt it very strongly and everyone tried to get out onto the street."

Turkey is criss-crossed with faultlines and frequently suffers earthquakes. A large earthquake measuring 7.4 killed about 18,000 people in August 1999.

Yesterday, families huddled in the open around fires lit to keep them warm, as the ground shook with more than 40 aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.5.

Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.