At least eight die in eastern Turkey quake

March 8th, 2010 - 12:13 pm ICT by BNO News  

ANKARA (BNO NEWS) — At least eight people were killed when a strong earthquake struck eastern Turkey on early Monday, seismologists and officials said.

The Kandilli Earthquake Research Institute and Observatory said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.0 and was centered about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) deep, making it an extremely shallow tremor. The epicenter was located about 21 kilometers (13 miles) south-southeast of the city of Elazig. It happened at 4.32 a.m. local time

The extend of the damage and casualties were not immediately clear, but a local official told CNN Turk that at least eight people were killed in the town of Okcular. An unknown number of people remain trapped under the rubble, and dozens were injured.

A series of small aftershocks were felt in the region, and are expected to continue for days or weeks. The largest had a preliminary magnitude of 4.1.

No tsunami warnings were issued because the epicenter of the earthquake was located on land, and the magnitude would have been too low to spark a tsunami threat.

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