Quake hits Turkey; over 600 dead

A major earthquake struck northwestern Turkey early on Tuesday, killing hundreds of people and injuring over a thousand. At least 600 peo...

A major earthquake struck northwestern Turkey early on Tuesday, killing hundreds of people and injuring over a thousand. At least 600 people died, according to a count given by the crisis centre set up by the government in Ankara, but local reports suggested the toll was much higher. Officials said they expected the death toll to rise still further, as communications with far-flung villages were re-established and rescue workers continued to co mb the rubble.

The quake, which struck at 03:02 a.m. and lasted some 45 seconds, had its epicentre at Izmit on the Marmara Sea and measured 6.7 on the Richter scale there, according to the Kandilli Seismic Institute in Istanbul.

The violent tremor also rocked Istanbul and the western towns of Bursa, Sakaryaand Eskisehir. The quake was felt as far away as the capital Ankara, 600 kilometres 375 milesfrom Istanbul, and Kayseri in central Anatolia. It was also felt across Bulgaria, Turkey8217;s neighbor to the North, and throughout northern Greece and many of Greece8217;sAegean islands.

At least 100 people were killed in Izmit, according to the crisis centre. Some 40 people were killed in Istanbul, 80 in Sakarya, 30 in Yalova, 28 in Bolu, 7 in Bursa and 7 in Eskisehir, the crisis centre said.

But authorities in Yalova reported 122 dead there, while local tolls in other towns continued rising as well. In Eskisehr more than 50 people were still presumed to be trapped under the rubble. More than 1,000 people were injured, the crisis centre said.

A state of emergency was declared in several provinces across western and central Turkey. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters in Ankara that many badly-hit places could not yet be reached by telephone, so information on damages and casualties was incomplete. Ecevit said he would visit Izmit later on Tuesday. Istanbul, Ankara and dozens of other towns were blacked out for hours due to power cuts, while phone lines were jammed by distraught citizens searching for friends and family.

More than 200 aftershocks rocked theregion within hours after the initial tremor, two of them reaching 5 and 5.5 on the Richter scale according to the Kandilli institute. The institute said the danger was not yet over and warned citizens to stay clear of damaged houses and unstable buildings. In Kazan near Ankara, a minaret collapsed.

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Near Golcuk in western Turkey, the earth split open, leaving a deep gap in the Road more than one metre wide. Istanbul8217;s governor Erol Cakir said 21 buildings collapsed in the city, several of them multi-story apartment buildings. In Izmit, a large oil refinery was reported to be on fire. The interior ministry said a bridge had collapsed East of the Port town.

Millions poured into the streets in Istanbul and elsewhere for fear of aftershocks and in search of friends and family. Many of the injuries were sustained when people jumped from their windows to escape their buildings.

Authorities called on the population to stay off the highways so as not to hinder rescue efforts, after traffic jammed several keyroads in Istanbul and Ankara. Across the stricken region, people were camping out in parks or sitting in their cars, afraid to enter their houses.