Last Sunday, October 23, a shallow but powerful earthquake struck Eastern Turkey in the early afternoon, destroying more than 2,000 buildings and shaking the ground for hundreds of miles. The magnitude 7.2 quake was centered near the city of Van, close to the border with Iran, with the greatest destruction occurring in the nearby town of Ercis. To date, at least 432 people are confirmed to have been killed and another 1,350 injured. Rescue workers have already saved dozens from the rubble, including a two-week-old baby, her mother, and her grandmother earlier today. Collected here are images from eastern Turkey as rescue work continues and tens of thousands of survivors now find themselves homeless. [35 photos]
Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate
Choose:
Rescue workers carry Azra Karaduman, a two-week-old baby girl, from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, on October 25, 2011. The baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, 46 hours after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey, a Reuters Television journalist said. Her mother, Semiha, who was also rescued, had been clasping her daughter to her chest. (Reuters/Stringer)
Rescue workers carry Azra Karaduman, a two-week-old baby girl, from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, on October 25, 2011. The baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, 46 hours after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey, a Reuters Television journalist said. Her mother, Semiha, who was also rescued, had been clasping her daughter to her chest. (Reuters/Stringer)
People try to save others trapped under debris in Tabanli village near the city of Van after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey on October 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Abdurrahman Antakyali, Aatolia) #
People rescue two women who were trapped under debris in Van, in eastern Turkey after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province, on October 23, 2011 according to the deputy Turkish prime minister. (AP Photo/Ali Ihsan Ozturk, Anatolia) #
Shocked people in the city center of Van, Turkey, after a powerful earthquake struck on Sunday October 23, 2011. (AP Photo/ Abdurrahman Antakyali, Anatolia) #
A rescue worker from Azerbaijan takes part with his dog in an operation to find people possibly trapped in a collapsed building, as a crane is used to dig through rubble following an earthquake in Ercis, Turkey, on October 25, 2011. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images) #
A man rests as another looks on as rescuers search for survivors in the debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Turkey, on October 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #
A rescue worker and his dog work to excavate people believed to be trapped under a collapsed building in Ercis, Turkey, late Monday, October 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #
Yunus, a 13-year-old earthquake survivor, waits for to be freed from under a collapsed building by rescue workers in Ercis, Turkey, early October 24, 2011. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #
Residents of Ercis gather near fires made on the street, after an earthquake in the Van province, on October 23, 2011. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images) #
Residents grab tents from a Turkish Red Crescent truck, one day after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, on October 24, 2011. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Turkish woman stands in a tent camp for people displaced by the earthquake in Ercis, on October 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of people spent the night under canvas, in cars or huddled round small fires in towns rattled by aftershocks from the massive earthquake in eastern Turkey that killed hundreds. (Reuters/Baz Ratner) #
Pavel Misenko, 27, an Azeri rescuer and his four-year-old German shepherd dog, Max, search in the debris to find survivors trapped under the debris of a collapsed building where seven people are believed buried in Ercis, on October 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #
Rescue workers form a chain to carry a generator as they take part in rescue operations after an earthquake in Ercis, Turkey, on October 25, 2011. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images) #
Men squat at a cemetery while attending the funeral of a man, killed during the earthquake, in Ercis, on October 25, 2011. (Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl) #
Rescuers work to save people trapped under debris after an earthquake in Ercis, early October 24, 2011. Rescue teams worked through the night to try to free survivors crying for help from under rubble. Survivors and emergency service workers searched frantically through mounds of smashed concrete and other debris with shovels and their bare hands after the 7.2 magnitude quake toppled buildings and some roads on Sunday. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #
An Azeri rescuer inspects a hole in the debris to search for possible survivors trapped under debris of a collapsed building where seven people are believed to be buried in Ercis, on October 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #
Guards man watch towers behind the earthquake damaged stone fence of the prison in Van, Turkey, on October 25, 2011. Anatolian news agency reported that 200 prisoners escaped from Van's prison after the quake toppled part of a wall, but 50 returned after seeing their families. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #
Turkish rescuers carry Semiha Karaduman, the mother of Azra Karaduman, a two-week-old baby girl they have saved, from under the debris of the same collapsed building in Ercis, on October 25, 2011. Shortly afterward, 73-year-old Gulzade Karaduman, grandmother of Azra, was also rescued. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #
Two-week-old Azra Karaduman, rescued from a building that collapsed during an earthquake, is carried in an incubator in a hospital in Ercis, in this still image taken from video footage on October 25, 2011. (Reuters/Reuters TV) #
Join the Discussion
blog comments powered by Disqus