Strong earthquake hits south-eastern Turkey near Syria border
The quake was felt in the capital Ankara and other Turkish cities, and also across the wider region.
KATHMANDU: A powerful earthquake has hit Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria, killing at least five people.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
The quake was felt in the capital Ankara and other Turkish cities, and also across the wider region.
A number of buildings have collapsed, and some people may be trapped.
A BBC Turkish correspondent in Diyarbakir reports that a shopping mall in the city collapsed.
Rushdi Abualouf, a BBC producer in the Gaza Strip, said there was about 45 seconds of shaking in the house he was staying in.
Turkish seismologists estimated the strength of the quake to be 7.4 magnitude.
They said that a second tremor hit the region just minutes later.
Turkey lies in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.
In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed after a powerful tremor rocked the north-west of the country.
-BBC
