Mian Shakeel Aslam...At least five people died and more than 100 people were buried under the rubble of a magnitude 5.7 earthquake in eastern Turkey on Wednesday night, authorities said.
The death toll reached Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, who spoke to reporters during his visit to the disaster area. He said the death occurred when two hotels collapsed. Another 20 people were rescued from collapsed structures, he said.
A total of 25 buildings collapsed, but 22 of them were empty since an earthquake devastated parts of Turkey 7.2 of this, including the area around Van, 23 October. Earthquake last month killed more than 500 people.
Eighteen people were rescued, told CNN Turk, who was a journalist in the region.
The epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of the city of Van, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and its depth was 4.8 kilometers (3 miles). The earthquake occurred at 21:23 (14:23 ET), said.
DHA, a media correspondent in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under the rubble. Twitter posts of its journalists, said they were alive.
Van DHA video showed residents and rescue workers pulling a man from the rubble on the stretcher, apparently conscious and use an oxygen mask, his arms folded across his chest.
It was not immediately clear if the man was one of the journalists of DHA.
Projectors bathed the scene of the night as dozens of people combing the wreckage of what appeared to be a multistory building. Front loader hands over large pile of crushed concrete.
Five aircraft have been prepared in Ankara Van rescuers, according to news agency Anadolu. The agency also reported a 4.4 magnitude aftershock.
Parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, were devastated by an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on October 23 that killed more than 500 people.
Posted By: Mian Shakeel Aslam
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/09/world/turkey-earthquake/index.html
