22 dead, 1,030 injured as massive quake of magnitude 6.8 rocks Turkey's Elazığ
22 dead, 1,030 injured as massive quake of magnitude 6.8 rocks Turkey's Elazığ

At least 22 people were killed and 1,031 others were injured after a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 rocked the eastern Turkish province of Elazığ Friday evening.

According to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), 17 people were killed and 654 people were injured in Elazığ, the hardest-hit province. Four people were killed and 226 people were injured in the neighbouring Malatya province with the main damage occurring in the Doğanyol district.

Dozens of others were also wounded in southern and southeastern provinces of Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa and Batman, as reported by Daily Sabah.

In a press conference held later on Saturday, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said four people died in Malatya’s Doğanyol district in addition to 18 others in Elazığ province, raising the total death toll to 22.

Soylu said 39 survivors have been pulled out from rubble since the earthquake. Efforts are still ongoing to rescue 22 people believed to be under rubble at various areas in Elazığ, he added.