Alwaght- A 6.8-magnitude earthquake rattled eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 1,015.
According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), 17 people were killed and 637 people were injured in Elazığ, the hardest hit province. Four people were killed in and 226 people were injured neighboring Malatya province with main damage occurring in Doğanyol district, Daily Sabah reported.
Dozens of others were also wounded in southern and southeastern provinces of Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa and Batman, the Turkish daily added.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said emergency workers were searching for 30 people trapped under the rubble.
The quake struck at 8:55pm local time, at a depth of 6.7km near the town of Sivrice in Elazig, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said. It was followed by several aftershocks, the strongest with magnitudes 5.4 and 5.1.
Some 30 buildings had collapsed from the quake in the two provinces, according to Murat Kurum, the environment minister.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that all measures were being taken to "ensure that the earthquake that occurred in Elazig and was felt in many provinces is overcome with the least amount of loss."
People in Elazig whose homes were damaged or were too afraid to go indoors were being moved to student dormitories or sports centre amid freezing conditions.
"Our houses collapsed ... we cannot go inside them," said a 32-year-old man from the town of Sivrice, epicentre of the quake.
AFAD warned residents not to return to damaged buildings because of the danger of further aftershocks. It said beds, blankets and tents were being sent to the area where some people sheltered in sports gymnasiums.
Elazig Governor Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told NTV television that a fire broke out in a building in Sivrice but was quickly brought under control.
The Kandilli seismology centre in Istanbul said the quake measured 6.5, while the US Geological Survey gave the preliminary magnitude as 6.7, and said the earthquake affected not only Turkey but also Syria, Georgia and Armenia. Different earthquake monitoring centres frequently give differing estimates.
NTV said the earthquake was felt in several Turkish provinces and sent people running outdoors in panic.
Turkey sits on top of two major fault-lines and earthquakes are frequent. Two strong earthquakes struck northwest Turkey in 1999, killing around 18,000 people.
A magnitude-6 earthquake killed 51 people in Elazig in 2010.
