(ABC) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 rocked eastern Turkey on Friday, causing some buildings to collapse, killing at least eight people, injuring more than 300 and leaving several trapped, Turkish officials said. The quake struck at 1755 GMT, 8:55 p.m. local time, at a depth of 6.7 kilometers near the town of Sivrice in the eastern Elazig province, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said.
It was followed by several aftershocks, the strongest with magnitudes 5.4 and 5.1. Elazig is some 750 kilometers (465 miles) east of the capital, Ankara. Governor Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told NTV television that three people died in the province. State-run Anadolu Agency quoted Gov. Aydin Barus as saying five other people died in his nearby Malatya province. READ MORE
