Turkish Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu stated on Sunday that at least eight people, including three children, have died in Van Province following a 5.7 magnitude earthquake on the border between Iran and Turkey.
According to the senior official, five people have been sent to a hospital, while others are believed to be stuck under the rubble.
Gempa 5.7 SR di Turkey, sedikitnya 43 desa rusak.
— Twitpos+™ (@twitpos) February 23, 2020
Menteri Dalam Negeri : 'Setidaknya 7 orang meninggal dunia'.#gempa#Earthquake#PrayForTurkey
Video lainnya pic.twitter.com/KBaGKwjDva
The earthquake was registered at 05:52 GMT with its epicentre located 141 kilometres (87.6 miles) to the west of the Iranian city of Tabriz and 71 kilometres to the southeast of the Turkish city of Ozalp. The focus of the quakes was registered at the depth of 5 kilometres.
İran’ın Hoy kentinde meydana gelen 5.9 büyüklüğündeki deprem, Van’da 3’ü çocuk 7 kişinin hayatını kaybetmesine neden oldu. pic.twitter.com/TYyNIQUlk4
— İhlas Haber Ajansı (@ihacomtr) February 23, 2020
Twenty-one people received quake-related injuries in the Van province, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was cited as saying by the NTV news channel. Eight are in critical condition.
A number of Turkish provinces are situated in seismically active regions. One of the latest strong earthquakes hit the country's Elazig Province in late January, killing 40 people.