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.
Deadly Earthquake in Turkey
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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 -
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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 -
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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 -
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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
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