Death toll from earthquake climbs to 20 in East Turkey

ISTANBUL: The death toll from the Friday earthquake in Turkey’s east has reached 19 people while the number of injured persons has risen to 1,000 on Saturday.

According to reports, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Elazig province at 8.55 p.m. local time (17:55 GMT).The disaster also affected the neighboring province of Malatya.

On Friday a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 14 people, causing buildings to collapse and sending panicked residents rushing into the street.

Rescue teams were being sent to the scene of the quake, which had its epicenter in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in the eastern province of Elazig.

Turkey is located in a seismically active zone and often suffers from powerful earthquakes. Two deadliest earthquakes in the country occurred in 115 AD and 526 AD. Both disasters devastated the city of Antioch, leaving some 260,000 and 250,000 people dead, respectively.