Thread: Turkey earthquake 'topples hotel', 10 dead

Turkey earthquake 'topples hotel'

An earthquake of 5.7 magnitude in eastern Turkey has brought down a six-storey hotel and other buildings, Turkish media report.

TRT Haber news channel said at least 18 buildings had collapsed, trapping a large number of people under rubble.

The quake's epicentre was near Van province, where an 7.2 earthquake last month killed more than 600 people.

Ambulances rushed to the scene of the collapsed hotel in Van city centre, the private NTV television station reported.

Television pictures showed residents and rescuers trying to lift debris to free people believed to be trapped under the hotel in the provincial capital.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15668071

At least 4 dead in quake in eastern Turkey

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:51 PM EST, Wed November 9, 2011

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

(CNN) -- At least four people died and 50 more were buried under rubble from a magnitude-5.7 earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Wednesday night, officials said.

The death toll came from the Turkish Government Crisis Center, which said 16 people were rescued from under rubble.

The epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of the town of Van, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and its depth was 4.8 kilometers (3 miles). The quake struck at 9:23 p.m. (2:23 p.m. ET), it said.

Thirteen people were rescued from two hotels, state-run television TRT said.

CNN Turk said 25 buildings collapsed; three of them were occupied at the time of the quake.

At least 18 buildings have collapsed in Van, including the two hotels and one school, TRT said.

Earthquake collapses buildings in Turkey
DHA, a CNN partner station in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under rubble.

Video from DHA showed residents and rescuers in a floodlit nighttime search effort combing through rubble of what appeared to have been a multistory building in Van.

Five planes were being prepared in Ankara to take rescuers to Van, according to state news agency Anadolu. The agency also reported an aftershock of magnitude 4.4.

Parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, were devastated by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on October 23, which killed more than 500 people.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/world/tur ... ?hpt=wo_c2

Turkey: quake kills at least 7, dozens trapped

By SELCAN HACAOGLU and SUZAN FRASER - Associated Press
AP – 23 mins ago...
Wed, Jun 22, 2011

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Rescue workers have pulled out 23 survivors from the rubble of three buildings, collapsed by an earthquake in eastern Turkey, the country's disaster management authority said Thursday. At least seven were killed and dozens of others trapped.

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Wednesday's quake toppled 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of them were occupied since the others have been evacuated after suffering damages in last month's powerful temblor. The magnitude-5.7 quake was a grim replay of the previous magnitude-7.2 earthquake that hit Oct. 23, killing more than 600 people.

Rescue workers speeded up their search for survivors by daylight on Thursday, trying to open tunnels into the debris, CNN-Turk television reported. The workers used the glare of high-powered lights to work throughout the night despite several aftershocks.

Atalay said Thursday that the rescue work was concentrating at the site of two collapsed hotels and one apartment building. The disaster management authority said 23 survivors were pulled out along with the bodies of seven people.

One of the collapsed buildings was the Bayram Hotel, Van's best-known hotel. It was at least 40 years old, and had been renovated last year.

Some of the guests were journalists who were covering the aftermath of the previous temblor, which left thousands homeless and led a number of countries to send tents, blankets and other supplies to assist Turkey in the aid effort.

Turkey's Dogan news agency said two of its reporters were missing.

Some foreign rescue workers who scrambled to help the survivors of the previous quake were also staying at the same hotel.

Japan's Association for Aid and Relief said one of its staff members, Miyuki Konnai, who rushed to Turkey to help the victims of the previous quake, was pulled out alive from the rubble of the Bayram Hotel but another staffer, Atsushi Miyazaki, was missing.

"We spoke with her briefly, she is in a hospital at the moment," Ikuko Natori told The Associated Press by telephone from Tokyo, Japan, in reference to the 32-year-old Konnai. "She had a slight injury but it is not life threatening."

Natori, however, said they were not able to reach Miyazaki, 41, yet.

"We tried calling him on his mobile, it rings but he is not answering," said Natori.

Ozgur Gunes, a cameraman for Turkey's Cihan news agency, told Haber Turk television that some trapped journalists had sent text messages to colleagues asking to be rescued.

He had left the hotel before the quake, but rushed back to collect his camera after it struck, only to find that the building toppled.

"There was dust everywhere and the hotel was flattened," he said. He told Sky Turk television that the building had some small cracks before the quake, but that he and other guests were told that there was no structural damage.

The exact number of people at the Bayram Hotel was not known but dozens are believed to be trapped, authorities said. CNN-Turk television said a number of people were also said to be waiting at an office of an inter-city bus firm under the hotel when the quake hit.

Hotel owner Aslan Bayram told NTV television that the hotel had 27 guests, about half of whom were inside when the quake hit. But he said he did not know how many customers may have been in a shop selling desserts at the entrance of the building.

Mustafa Bilici, a ruling party lawmaker, said one person died after throwing himself out of a building in panic.

Atalay said among the toppled buildings were a school and a number of mudbrick homes.

The government dispatched hundreds of rescue teams from across the country aboard military and civilian planes, NTV television said. Schools in the region are closed until Dec. 5.

The Turkish Red Crescent immediately dispatched 15,000 tents as well as some 300 rescue workers, the state-run TRT television said. There was no damage in the town of Edremit, the quake's epicenter.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.7 and that its epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of Van. It struck at 9:23 p.m. (1923 GMT, 2:23 p.m. EST).

About 1,400 aftershocks have rocked the region since the massive earthquake on Oct. 23, which killed more than 600 and left thousands homeless. Many residents had been living in tents, despite the cold, too afraid to return to their homes. At least 2,000 buildings were destroyed in the stronger temblor and authorities declared another 3,700 buildings unfit for living.

http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-quake-kill ... 56188.html

Turkish Quake Kills 10 in Eastern City Struck Last Month

November 10, 2011, 11:27 AM EST

By Steve Bryant

(Updates with latest toll in first, second paragraphs; minister’s comment in third; bank destroyed in sixth.)

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- At least 10 people died when an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 rocked an eastern Turkish province that was struck by a quake Oct. 23.

The deaths took place in the city of Van, where 25 buildings collapsed during yesterday’s earthquake, Turkey’s emergency relief authority said on its website. A Japanese aid worker staying in a hotel was among the dead, it said. The hotel and another that fell in the city, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) east of Istanbul, had housed journalists and rescue workers who were in Van province because of October’s quake. Rescue crews freed 27 people, the authority said.

“The good news is that of the 25 buildings, 23 were empty. The two hotels were the only occupied ones,â€