ISTANBUL: A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least four 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 epicentre in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in the eastern province of Elazig.

“It was very scary, furniture fell on top of us. We rushed outside,” 47-year-old Melahat Can, who lives in the provincial capital of Elazig, told AFP.

“We will spend the coming days in a farmhouse outside the city,” she said.

The Turkish government’s disaster and emergency management agency said the quake hit Sivrice at around 8.55pm.

The US Geological Survey assessed its magnitude at 6.7, and said it had a depth of 10 kilometres.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said four people had died, two in Elazig province and two in the neighbouring province of Malatya, which lies to the southwest.

“We are hoping we will not have more casualties,” he was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Turkish television showed images of people stuck in apartments rushing outside in panic, as well as a fire on the roof of one building.

‘Everybody is in the street’

“Sivrice was shaken very seriously, we have directed our rescue teams to the region,” Soylu, who is due to go to the affected area, told reporters.

Sivrice — a town with a population of about 4,000 population — is situated south of Elazig city on the shores of Hazar lake — one of the most popular tourist spots in the region.

The lake is home to a “Sunken City”, with archaeologists finding archaeological traces dating back 4,000 years in its waters.

The tremor was felt in several parts of eastern Turkey near the Iraqi and Syrian borders, the Turkish broadcaster NTV reported, adding that neighbouring cities had mobilised rescue teams for the quake area.

“We have sent four teams to the quake region,” Recep Salci of Turkey’s Search and Rescue Association (AKUT) told AFP.

“We have news of collapsed buildings, and are preparing more teams in case of need.” Zekeriya Gunes, 68, a resident of Elazig city, said a building 200 metres down on his street had collapsed but he did not know whether it was inhabited.

“Everybody is in the street, it was very powerful, very scary,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2020