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      OKCULAR VILLAGE, Turkey (AP) - A strong earthquake with a
preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing
57 people as it knocked down stone or mud-brick houses and minarets
in at least six villages, the government said.


      The government's crisis center said about 100 other people were
injured in the quake, which hit at 4:32 a.m. in Elazig province, about 340 miles east of Ankara, the capital.

      The earthquake, which caught many people as they slept, was
centered near the village of Basyurt and followed by more than 30
aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.5 and 5.1, the Kandilli
seismology center said.

      The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular, where some 17
people were killed and homes crumbled into piles of dirt. Another
13 people were killed in the village of Yukari Demirci, Gov.
Muammer Erol said.

      By noon, everyone had been removed from the rubble and there was
no one left buried inside the debris, Erol said.

      "Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in
place," said Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of
Yukari Kanatli, where he said at least three villagers died.

      Authorities blocked access to Okcular so ambulances and rescue
teams could maneuver on the village's narrow roads. Relatives
rushed to the village for news of their loved ones.

      "The village is totally flattened," village administrator
Hasan Demirdag told private NTV television.

      Ali Riza Ferhat, an Okcular resident, said he was woken up by
the jolt.

      "I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came
out of the window and started helping my neighbors," he told NTV
television. "We removed six bodies."

      The quake was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tunceli,
Bingol and Diyarbakir, where residents fled to the streets in panic
and spent the night outdoors.

      Some of the injuries occurred during the panic, when people
jumped from windows or balconies. Video from the Dogan news agency
showed residents bringing the injured to hospitals by cars and
taxis.

      Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kandilli Observatory's
director, Mustafa Erdik, urged residents not to enter any damaged
homes, warning that they could topple from aftershocks that Erdik
said could last for days.

      Television footage showed rescue workers and soldiers at Okcular
lifting debris as villagers looked on. Rescuers dug into the dirt,
finding the body of an elderly man, and quickly covered him with a
sheet.

      Two women sat on mattresses wrapped in blankets. The temblor
also knocked down barns, killing farm animals.

      Turkey's Red Crescent organization sent tents and blankets to
the region. Erdogan said ambulance helicopters, prefabricated homes
and mobile kitchens were also being sent.

      Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies on top of
the North Anatolian fault. In 1999, two powerful earthquakes struck
northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.

      In 2007, an earthquake measuring 5.7 damaged buildings in
Elazig, briefly trapping a woman under debris. In 2003, an
earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in
the neighboring province of Bingol, killing 83 children. The
collapse was blamed on poor construction.
      

      Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey,
contributed to the report.

Gallery

Disasters

A strong earthquake with a
preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing
57 people as it knocked down stone or mud-brick houses and minarets
in at least six villages, the government said.

6.0 earthquake hits eastern Turkey, kills 57

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