1 dead, 9 injured after magnitude 57 quake hits eastern Turkey's Bingl province

One person was killed and nine others were injured after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Turkey’s eastern Bingöl province at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers, reports said Sunday.

The earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 5.9, but Kandilli Observatory revised the figure to magnitude 5.8, while Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reported it as 5.7.

A village guard was killed and one other was injured after an observation tower was damaged, according to Bingöl Governor's Office.

Eight more people were injured in various villages in the area, including one child hurt when a roof collapsed, AFAD said.

It said 550 tents were sent to the region, along with emergency aid teams and an ambulance helicopter.

Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum told reporters that rescue teams have been dispatched to the region, and authorities are following the incident closely.

The epicenter of the earthquake was Karlıova district, according to Kandilli, and the temblor lasted around eight to 10 seconds, striking at 5:24 p.m. local time.

Aftershocks were reported following the earthquake. There are reportedly one-story homes in the area around the epicenter of the quake.

The earthquake in Bingöl was triggered by the deadly East Anatolian fault line, stretching some 650 kilometers from eastern Turkey's highlands to the Mediterranean, from where it turns southward and meets the northern end of the Great Rift system separating African and Arabian plates. The strike-slip fault was formed millions of years ago as the Anatolian plate was being pushed northwestward by the Arabian plate.

Experts noted that the line has mainly been silent after producing a series of devastating earthquakes recorded in the 16th and 19th centuries. However, major earthquakes with a significant intensity often occur in the region. In 2010, eastern Elazığ province was hit by a magnitude 6 earthquake, killing 51 people in the villages of the Karakoçan district. Some 350 kilometers to the east in 2011, an earthquake struck the eastern city of Van and the town of ErciÅŸ, some 100 kilometers to the north, killing at least 523 people.

More recently, at least 41 people were killed and 1,607 others were injured when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Elazığ in January.

Turkey is among the world's most seismically active countries as it is situated on several active fault lines, and dozens of minor earthquakes and aftershocks occur daily.

One person was killed and nine others were injured after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Turkey’s eastern Bingöl province at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers, reports said Sunday.

The earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 5.9, but Kandilli Observatory revised the figure to magnitude 5.8, while Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reported it as 5.7.

A village guard was killed and one other was injured after an observation tower was damaged, according to Bingöl Governor's Office.

Eight more people were injured in various villages in the area, including one child hurt when a roof collapsed, AFAD said.

It said 550 tents were sent to the region, along with emergency aid teams and an ambulance helicopter.

Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum told reporters that rescue teams have been dispatched to the region, and authorities are following the incident closely.

The epicenter of the earthquake was Karlıova district, according to Kandilli, and the temblor lasted around eight to 10 seconds, striking at 5:24 p.m. local time.

Aftershocks were reported following the earthquake. There are reportedly one-story homes in the area around the epicenter of the quake.

The earthquake in Bingöl was triggered by the deadly East Anatolian fault line, stretching some 650 kilometers from eastern Turkey's highlands to the Mediterranean, from where it turns southward and meets the northern end of the Great Rift system separating African and Arabian plates. The strike-slip fault was formed millions of years ago as the Anatolian plate was being pushed northwestward by the Arabian plate.

Experts noted that the line has mainly been silent after producing a series of devastating earthquakes recorded in the 16th and 19th centuries. However, major earthquakes with a significant intensity often occur in the region. In 2010, eastern Elazığ province was hit by a magnitude 6 earthquake, killing 51 people in the villages of the Karakoçan district. Some 350 kilometers to the east in 2011, an earthquake struck the eastern city of Van and the town of ErciÅŸ, some 100 kilometers to the north, killing at least 523 people.

More recently, at least 41 people were killed and 1,607 others were injured when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Elazığ in January.

Turkey is among the world's most seismically active countries as it is situated on several active fault lines, and dozens of minor earthquakes and aftershocks occur daily.