Turkey Earthquake 2011: Quake Kills 22, Including Rescuers From Last Quake (VIDEO)
The death toll from a second earthquake in Turkey in just two weeks has risen to 22; killing rescuers who were on hand to rescue victims from the previous quake.
The second earthquake, registering a magnitude of 5.7, according to U.S. Geological Survey, struck in eastern Turkey Wednesday.
A six story hotel, and other buildings, weakened by the prior earthquake that killed around 600 people, collapsed trapping people inside.
It is reported that the hotel was being used by journalists and aid workers who had come to the region to cover the news and assist victims of the last quake in the province of Van.
Accordingly, rescue team were sent to the crumbled site from the capital Ankara and other regions to rescue other rescuers workers who were in the area clearing debris from the earlier quake.
Since the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck on Oct. 23, the region has experienced about 1,400 aftershocks.
Victims of the Oct. 23 quake have been living in tents despite freezing weather due to fear of returning to their homes.
The stronger quake left thousands of buildings weakened in its wake, rendering them at risk of collapsing.
Scores of angry residents protested at the site of the collapsed hotel on Thursday, charging that authorities should have closed the building due to extensive damage incurred from the first quake.