Turkish rescue teams continued to pull survivors from collapsed buildings Sunday, more than a day and a half after a powerful earthquake hit the country's east, killing at least 31 people, officials said.
The magnitude 6.8 quake injured 1,556 people, and 45 people had been pulled from the rubble so far, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said.
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Turkish rescue teams continued to pull survivors from collapsed buildings Sunday, more than a day and a half after a powerful earthquake hit the country's east, killing at least 31 people, officials said.
Rescue teams concentrated their efforts in the Mustafa Pasa neighborhood of the city of Elazig and the nearby town of Sivrice, the closest residential area to the epicenter of Friday night’s quake.
Friday’s main quake hit at 8:55 p.m. local time (1755 GMT). Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which sits atop two major fault lines. A pair of strong earthquakes struck northwest Turkey in 1999, killing around 18,000 people.
Rescuers work on searching for people buried under the rubble on a collapsed building, after an earthquake struck Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
A rescuer with a dog works on searching for people buried under the rubble on a collapsed building, after an earthquake struck Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
Rescue workers carry a three-year-old child that was found alive in the rubble of a building destroyed on Friday's earthquake in Elazig, eastern Turkey, late Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighboring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake.(Ismail CoskunIHA via AP)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carries a coffin of a victim after an earthquake hit Elazig, eastern Turkey, Friday, during the funeral procession for Salih Civelek and Aysegul Civelek, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)
As overnight temperatures dropped to -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit), emergency teams set up more than 9,500 tents for displaced residents and distributed some 17,000 hot meals.
Rescuers work on searching for people buried under the rubble on a collapsed building, after an earthquake struck Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
Rescue teams concentrated their efforts in the Mustafa Pasa neighborhood of the city of Elazig and the nearby town of Sivrice, the closest residential area to the epicenter of Friday night’s quake.
Turkish television showed Ayse Yildiz, 35, and her 2-year-old daughter Yusra being saved from a collapsed apartment building in Mustafa Pasa district. They had been trapped for 28 hours after the earthquake struck.
Nearly 600 aftershocks rocked the region as rescue teams worked. A magnitude 4.3 quake hit Puturge district in the neighboring Malatya province on Sunday morning, AFAD said.
Members of rescue services carry a wounded man, that was found in the rubble of a building destroyed on Friday's earthquake in Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
Friday’s main quake hit at 8:55 p.m. local time (1755 GMT). Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which sits atop two major fault lines. A pair of strong earthquakes struck northwest Turkey in 1999, killing around 18,000 people.
People gather around fires to spend the night following Friday's earthquake that destroyed their houses, in Elazig, eastern Turkey, late Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. More than 24 hours after a powerful earthquake hit eastern Turkey rescuers continued to pull survivors from under collapsed buildings Sunday. (Ugur CanDHA via AP)
Rescuers work on searching for people buried under the rubble on a collapsed building, after an earthquake struck Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
A rescuer with a dog works on searching for people buried under the rubble on a collapsed building, after an earthquake struck Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation via AP)
Rescue workers carry a three-year-old child that was found alive in the rubble of a building destroyed on Friday's earthquake in Elazig, eastern Turkey, late Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighboring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake.(Ismail CoskunIHA via AP)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carries a coffin of a victim after an earthquake hit Elazig, eastern Turkey, Friday, during the funeral procession for Salih Civelek and Aysegul Civelek, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Rescue workers were continuing to search for people buried under the rubble of apartment blocks in Elazig and neighbouring Malatya. Mosques, schools, sports halls and student dormitories were opened for hundreds who left their homes after the quake (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)