Europe

Europe

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey Wednesday night

09 November 2011 23:01 (UTC +04:00)

At least 18 buildings have collapsed in Van, including two hotels and one school, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Eleven people were rescued alive from the rubble of the two hotels, CNN Turk reported, citing the state news agency Anatolia.

DHA, a CNN partner station in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under rubble. No other details were immediately available.

Video from DHA showed residents and rescuers in a floodlit nighttime search effort combing through rubble of what appeared to have been a multistory building in Van.

One other survivor was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, but there were no early indications of how many people might be unaccounted for in the aftermath of the quake.

Five planes were being prepared in Ankara to carry rescue teams to Van, according to state news agency Anadolu. The agency also reported an aftershock of 4.4 magnitude.

Parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, were devastated by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake October 23, killing more than 500 people.