Posted: Monday, 08 March 2010 8:57AM

Earthquake In Eastern Turkey Kills 41

KOVANCILAR, Turkey (Reuters) - A strong earthquake killed 41 villagers in eastern Turkey early on Monday, local officials said, as rescuers worked to free survivors trapped under the rubble.

The quake woke residents from their sleep when it struck at 4:32 am local time (0232 GMT), centered on the sparsely populated area of Basyurt in Elazig province. The quake had a magnitude of 6.0 and was followed by 30 minor aftershocks.

"There was a lot of fear and panic among the people. It lasted about a minute. We felt it very strongly and everyone tried to get out onto the street," Nursel Sengezer, a Dogan News Agency correspondent in Elazig, told broadcaster CNN Turk.

Hospital workers and relatives ferried casualties from cars and ambulances into the state hospital in the nearby town of Kovancilar as concerned locals looked on.

In nearby villages, people lit fires overnight to keep warm after rushing out of their houses in panic before dawn.

The Elazig Crisis Center said 41 people were killed and 50 injured, 10 of them seriously, NTV said.

The quake toppled the minarets of three mosques in villages in the area, said Elazig Governor Muammer Erol.

"The number of people injured is not clear. Ambulances keep on going back and forth. Rescue work is continuing. Our gendarmerie and civil defense teams are at work," Erol said.

Gendarmerie officers and police directed operations on the outskirts of affected villages, where crowds had gathered.

A Red Crescent team has reached the area and set up a crisis center, while rescuers worked to search for survivors still trapped under rubble.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers were traveling to the quake zone, state-run Anatolian news agency reported.

Turkey is criss-crossed with faultlines and frequently suffers earthquakes. A large earthquake measuring 7.4 killed some 18,000 people in August 1999.

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