'Major Devastation' in Turkey Quake (NEWS BRIEF)

(Video: SkyTurk via YOUTUBE)

(HN, October 23, 2011 - UPDATED 2300GMT) - Hundreds of people are feared dead in an afternoon, 7.2 magnitude earthquake which struck the impoverished eastern regions of Turkey Sunday.

Video broadcast by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) showed massive devastation, with buildings collapsed and people screaming.

In a bulletin several hours after the first quake, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 6.0 quake hit 20 km northwest of Van at a depth of 9 km.

Istanbul-based journalist Dorion Jones told CBC that the area is one of the poorest in Turkey, with building codes rarely enforced. He added that cold weather has already hit a region that is both mountainous and, in parts, sparsely populated.

One Arab satellite channel showed ordinary people frantically digging through rubble with their bare hands.

Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News reported that three military C-130 aircraft are on their way to the region with relief supplies. It added that two battalions are on their way to the region to assist with relief efforts.

State-run television is reporting deaths in the dozens, but 1,000 could already be dead, said Mustafa Erdik, head of the Kandilli observatory. The epicentre appeared to be near Ercis, a town of 75,000 in the province of Van and close to the Iranian border. The bustling regional centre of Van is said to have sustained major damage, and its airport is reported to be closed, hampering relief efforts.

"Around 10 buildings have collapsed in the city of Van and around 25 or 30 have collapsed in Ercis, including a dormitory," Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.

The Turkish Red Crescent said its workers are responding in the areas affected by the quake.  Red Crescent workers are focused on search and rescue efforts, providing blankets, stoves, food and water to survivors and operating disaster management centres in the mountainous and isolated region.

Turkey lies on one of the world's most active seismic zones. In 1999, two earthquakes killed about 18,000 people.

News agencies said the powerful quake also shook buildings in neighbouring Armenia, including in the capital Yerevan.

Offers of assistance have started to come in from around the world. The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, Jr., said "we have been in touch with the Turkish authorities to offer all possible assistance."

Israeli President Shimon Peres has called his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, to give his condolences, Haaretz newspaper reported.

- HUMNEWS staff, agencies