The magnitude-5.7 earthquake in eastern Turkey struck at 5.53am GMT (9.23am local time) today killing at least nine people, including three children. A 6.0 aftershock followed this large earthquake hitting the same region at 4pm GMT. Several people were injured both in Turkey and Iran after houses collapsed or were damaged. But what is the latest news on the earthquake?
Eastern Turkey was hit by a magnitude-5.7 earthquake on Sunday morning which led to the deaths of at least nine people, including three children.
The large quake centred on the Iranian border village of Habash-e Olya, 15.5 miles southeast of Saray in Turkey.
At least 37 others have been injured in Turkey’s Van province after houses collapsed, while around 75 people were injured in Iran.
According to Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, nine of the injured persons are in a serious condition.
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The Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu confirmed that three of the nine killed were children, adding that some 1,066 buildings have collapsed.
In total, 43 villages in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province saw houses damaged by the shaker.
Turkish public broadcaster TRT World said it affected about 43 villages in Turkey, which has a history of powerful earthquakes.
The magnitude-5.7 earthquake had a 4 mile (6.4km) depth, according to USGS.
The USGS put the epicentre 29.2 miles (47km) west of the Iranian city of Khoy, where people felt the tremor, according to state TV.
On Sunday, Mr Soylu revealed the Disaster and Emergency Management authority had begun rescue work.
TRT added damage inspection teams had been dispatched to the region.
Turkish media has shown footage of rescuers digging and families waiting outside in snowy conditions in Baskale, Van province.
The videos broadcast have also revealed furniture and belongings strewn on cracked and snowy roads.
Nearly 150 tents were sent to shelter families in the region, where several schools in the districts of Baskale, Saray and Gurpinar sustained minor damage.
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In one village the ground cratered under several buildings, while in others residents were wrapped in blankets outside homes with crumbled and cracked exterior walls, fallen metal roofs and twisted wiring.
The Governor of Van, Mehmet Bilmez told reporters: “The damage caused loss of life.
“There is destruction in all four villages.”
One villager told Reuters: “There were children under the debris. We thought we heard their voices.
“Then something happened. We didn’t understand what happened exactly and we pulled out three bodies.”
A series of aftershocks struck the region in the wake of the large quake on Sunday morning.
Three aftershocks between magnitude-4.1 and magnitude-4.4 struck the area between 9.48am and 2.28pm GMT.
At 4pm GMT (7.30pm local time), the region was hit by a 6.0 aftershock which struck 16 miles (26km) southeast of Saray in Turkey.
The shaker hit 6.2 miles (10km) deep and affected Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Last month two avalanches in Van province killed at least 39 people including rescue workers.
Additionally, in the provinces of Elazig and Malatya at least 31 people died and more than 1,600 were injured in a powerful quake.
Turkey’s most deadly earthquake occurred in 1999 in an earthquake in the western Turkish city of Izmit.
Iran’s deadliest earthquake hit in 1990 when 40,000 people died and half a million were left homeless.
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