Ankara (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The survivors of the earthquake that struck eastern Turkey yesterday, spent the night in tents or around fires, for fear of new tremors. The search for people still alive under the rubble ended yesterday in the afternoon. The authorities have determined that the death toll is 51 and wounded over 70. The victims, including many children, were caught in their sleep. The epicenter of the earthquake of magnitude 6.0 was in Karakosan in the province of Elazig, but the majority of victims are concentrated in six villages around the epicentre. The area most affected is the village of Oksular, where 17 people were killed, followed by Yucan Demirci, where 13 people died.
The earthquake has caused many more casualties than might be expected, given the strength of the shock. This is due to the fact that most of the collapsed houses were made of mud and brick, and were destroyed in the earthquake.
The Red Crescent has distributed 230 tents and blankets to help the 2 thousand people who spent the night outdoors, with the temperature reaching 0 ° C. Local people also helped in the search for survivors.
The victims were buried yesterday afternoon, after prayers at some mosques, whose minarets were destroyed. According to Muslim tradition, bodies should be buried as soon as possible.
