18 people killed in earthquake in Türkiye

"The earthquake killed 13 people in Elazig province and five others in Malatya province," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said today after arriving at the scene to oversee rescue operations.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said more than 500 people were injured and rescue workers were searching for 30 people buried under the rubble. At one collapsed building in Elazig, rescuers had to use their hands to remove bricks and plaster from the rubble. Rescue workers elsewhere used vehicles to clear roads and evacuate the injured.

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Minister Soylu described the earthquake as a "level 3" under Türkiye's emergency response plan, meaning it was a national disaster but did not require international help. He said Turkey had learned from previous earthquakes. Drones were deployed for search and rescue operations and for communication between provinces.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) warned residents not to return to damaged homes as aftershocks could cause them to collapse. It also said beds, blankets and tents were being sent to the disaster area, where temperatures have dropped below zero at night.

"Our house has collapsed. We can't go inside," said a 32-year-old man in the town of Sivrice, near the epicenter of the earthquake.

"In our village, many people died. I hope God will help us. Our livestock died. Families sat by the fire to warm themselves overnight," said a man named Sinasi.

People in Syria, Iran and Lebanon also felt the earthquake.

Türkiye has a history of major earthquakes. More than 17,000 people were killed and half a million left homeless in a 7.6-magnitude quake in Izmit, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Istanbul, in August 1999. In 2011, an earthquake in the northern Turkish city of Van and the town of Ercis killed 523 people.