Emergency workers battled to rescue people trapped in buildings in the city of Van and surrounding districts on the banks of Lake Van, near Turkey's border with Iran.
Some 10 buildings collapsed in Van city and about 25-30 buildings were brought to the ground in the nearby district of Ercis, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters.
"We estimate around 1,000 buildings are damaged and our estimate is for hundreds of lives lost. It could be 500 or 1,000," Kandilli Observatory general manager Mustafa Erdik told a news conference.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was travelling to Van and the cabinet was expected to discuss the quake at a meeting called for Monday morning.
"A lot of buildings collapsed, many people were killed, but we don't know the number. We are waiting for emergency help, it's very urgent," Zulfukar Arapoglu, the mayor of Ercis, told news broadcaster NTV.
Cihan news agency said 30 had been killed in Ercis district.
"We need tents urgently and rescue teams. We don't have any ambulances, and we only have one hospital. We have many killed and injured," he said.
Turkey's Red Crescent said one of its local teams was helping to rescue people from a student residence in Ercis. It said it was sending tents, blankets and food to the region.
More than 20 aftershocks shook the area, further unsettling residents who ran out on the streets when the initial strong quake struck. Television pictures showed rooms shaking and furniture falling to the ground as people ran from one building.
Dozens of emergency workers and locals crawled over a multi-storey building in Van as they searched for any people trapped inside.
Elsewhere, vehicles lay crushed by falling masonry in the street while dazed-looking people wandered past.
Some 50 injured people had been taken to hospital in Van, state-run Anatolian news agency reported, but it did not give details on how serious their injuries were.
The Kandilli Observatory, which initially cited a magnitude of 6.6, said the earthquake struck at 10:41 GMT and was 5 km (3 miles) deep. The US Geological Survey (USGC) earlier reported that the magnitude was 7.6.
Turkish media said phone lines and electricity had been cut off. The quake's epicentre was at the village of Tabanli, 20 km north of Van city, Kandilli said.
In Hakkari, about 100 km (60 miles) south of Van, a building could be felt swaying for about 10 seconds during the quake but there was no immediate sign of casualties or damage in the town, about two and a half hours drive through the mountains from Van.
Major geological fault lines cross Turkey and small earthquakes are a near daily occurrence. Two large quakes in 1999 killed more than 20,000 people in northwest Turkey.
Two people were killed and 79 injured in May when an earthquake shook Simav in northwest Turkey.
COMMENTS (9)
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Turkey is next to Israel and Israel didnt get affected by this quake..Whose prayers are really answered here and who is really being protected here? ..Think critically.
I remember after Oct 8th, the Turkish were the first in the international community to reach out to us. They set up relief camps and the Turkish Red Cross was right there from Margalla Tower to the most remote parts of AJK. In this dark hour for the Turkish people, we need to return the favor.
This should be the front page headline! ET should help get people together to help our brothers in Turkey!
Pakistan and Turkey have deep roots of bilateral relations.
In these testing hours, Pakistan should help the government and people of Turkey as much as it can.
People of Pakistan share their sentiments and are grieved on the sudden deaths of earthquake victims and loss of public and private properties.
Pakistan is with Turkish people in this hour of need...
Very sad and heart breaking may Allah give u guys Saber in this difficult time from one pakistani Brothers..
My sincerest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, in this tragedy.
We are with our brothers and sisters in Turkey. In Heart and Mind!
sad Rip 4 victims..
this should be a wake up call for Both India and Pakistan..we live in earthquake zone hence buildings should be made with good amount of steel and cement able to save lives in event of earthquake in the region..
both government should approve earthquake resistant buildings like in Japan where damage can be reduced and lesser lives are lost due to rig of fire quake line ..
moreover ban any civilian contractor and builder if they dont follow this guidelines and try to sell less safer houses to make money.. and government should ensure safety of water reservoirs, dams and power installations
also people should not be misers and invest into good quality homes instead of being ignorant to this danger and buying cheaper unsafe homes..
government should also co ordinate emergency teams and execute civilian safety drills periodically in schools / colleges and factorise to encourage greater awareness and safety for everyone's well being..
it is always better to be prepared than regret being unprepared for such disasters..
Üzgünüz.
Hiddim İsrail.On this difficult hour for your people we are willing to provide help needed help. We send life rescue and medical teams and help people several times on the previous earth quakes.
We are ready to do this once again.Çok yaşa