Earthquake Today: 11 Rescued From Collapsed Turkey Hotel
Another earthquake hit eastern Turkey Wednesday night, killing at least three people and injuring dozens.
The 5.7-magnitude earthquake crumbled dozens of buildings, including a school, hotel, and a number of mud brick homes, according to Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay.
The quake had a depth of 3.1 miles, striking 16 miles south of Van, Turkey and 577 miles east of Ankara. It hit eastern Turkey at 9:23 p.m.
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Reports contend the collapsed buildings were damaged from the previous earthquake.
“Rescue efforts are concentrating on the hotel as the other buildings are thought to have been empty,” said Alper Kucuk of the Turkish Red Crescent to BBC News.
Kucuk confirmed at least 11 people pulled from the six-story hotel in Van. As BBC News contends, primarily journalists and aid workers occupied the hotel.
State television depicts survivors scrambling to locate those trapped under the crumbled buildings, following voices and digging with their bare hands to free others.
Wednesday night’s quake conjures haunting memories of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the same region Oct. 23.
The previous quake killed over 600 and toppled 2,200 buildings, leaving hundreds homeless.
The earthquakes come at a bad time for Turkey, which is currently experiencing snow and cold temperatures in its winter months.
Ercis, with a population of 75,000, is categorized as one of Turkey’s most earthquake-prone zones. The cities of Ercis and Van were hit the hardest in the Oct. 23 earthquake.
“Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines,” reported BBC News.
“May God protect us from this kind of grief,” said Kursat Lap, a resident who lost his nephew’s family, to the Associated Press after the Oct. 23 earthquake.
Since December 1939, 14 major earthquakes have rocked the country. Wednesday night’s earthquake proved to be the biggest aftershock of the Oct. 23 earthquake.
