7.2 quake causes damage, casualties in Turkey

[President Camacho]

7.2 quake causes damage, casualties in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish Red Crescent says 25 apartment buildings and one dormitory in the eastern town of Ercis have collapsed following a large earthquake.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 struck eastern Turkey Sunday, collapsing buildings and causing a number of deaths, officials said. At least 50 people were injured.

The temblor collapsed several buildings in the city of Van as well, authorities said.

The Red Crescent says its rescuers have pulled out several injured people out of the collapsed dormitory in Ercis.

No overall casualty figure was available.

The deputy prime minister says the earthquake in eastern Turkey has collapsed around 45 buildings.

Besir Atalay says the quake collapsed some 25-30 buildings as well as a dormitory in the eastern town of Ercis in Van province. He says 10 buildings fell in the city of Van.

The magnitude-7.2 quake struck Van province on Sunday.

 

[Kadamba]

Nature's fury again. As many as 1,000 casualties are reported. RIP to dead.

Earthquake Hits Turkey 1,000 Reported Dead 45 Buildiongs Collapsed City Van Eastern Province | World News | Sky News

 

[PteX]

This is devastating news. May they RIP and the one`s that are trapped be rescued quickly.

I hope the Turkish government allows other nations to help them save their citizens.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

my heart sunk when i woke up and saw this news......

God bless Turkiye and Turkish people. Like us, they have suffered major natural disasters.


they've been at our side since Day-1. We must return the favour and send a team of doctors, and aid materials.




This too shall pass.

 

[Jango]

Personal experience, the days after earthquakes are really tense. Feeling after shocks all the time, and thinking that at the next instant, a bigger after shock might come.

 

[Swati Shukla]

very sad news.. god bless them..

 

[Rafi]

my heart sunk when i woke up and saw this news......

God bless Turkiye and Turkish people. Like us, they have suffered major natural disasters.


they've been at our side since Day-1. We must return the favour and send a team of doctors, and aid materials.




This too shall pass.

It is true we are one nation and one people, the Turks are our true brothers.

 

[Solomon2]

Israel offers Turkey aid after quake

Turkish men take part in a rescue operation to salvage people from a collapsed building after an earthquake in the Ercis procince of Van. Israel said Sunday it had offered its assistance to Turkey after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern part of the country, despite ongoing tensions between the formerly close allies. (AFP Photo/Mustafa Ozer)

Israel said Sunday it had offered its assistance to Turkey after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern part of the country, despite ongoing tensions between the formerly close allies.

But Turkey had said that for the time being, they would not need it.

Israel's defence ministry is preparing to offer Turkey "any aid they might need," Defence Minister Ehud Barak's office said.

The Israeli embassy in Ankara has also offered the Turkish government humanitarian aid, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

An embassy spokesman in Ankara said Israeli President Shimon Peres has called his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, adding: "Peres expressed his sympathy regarding the recent earthquake and offered any help needed."

During the telephone conversation, Peres offered the Israeli assistance and Gul responded: "For the time being we don't believe that any help will be needed. We can manage it," the spokesman told AFP.

Eastern Turkey was struck by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Sunday afternoon, which the country's seismological institute said may have killed between 500 and 1,000 people.

Ties between Israel and Turkey, once strong allies, have been strained since May 2010, when Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla trying to sail to Gaza in defiance of a blockade, killing nine Turks.

The crisis deepened last month, with Turkey expelling the Israeli ambassador and axing military ties and defence trade.

But despite the frayed relations, the two countries have maintained a tradition of offering each other assistance in times of need.

In December, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent firefighting planes to Israel to help tame a forest fire which killed 44 people, and sent aid to victims of the blaze.

In 1999, relations between the two countries were cemented in part by the aid which Israel sent to assist in the aftermath of two massive earthquakes in northwest Turkey that killed some 20,000 people.