Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said numerous people have been killed and several others wounded in Sunday's quake with more people trapped under debris. (IHA via AP)
Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said numerous people have been killed and several others wounded in Sunday's quake with more people trapped under debris. (IHA via AP)
Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said numerous people have been killed and several others wounded in Sunday's quake with more people trapped under debris. (IHA via AP)
Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said numerous

Turkey earthquake: at least nine dead after 5.7-magnitude tremor near Iran border


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Nine people have died and others are stuck under collapsed buildings in south-east Turkey after a magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck near the border with Iran on Sunday, the Turkish Interior Minister said.

Three of those killed in the shallow tremor were children and five people were injured, Suleyman Soylu said.

He said 1,066 buildings collapsed and the Education Ministry said they included schools.

Turkish TV showed people digging through rubble with shovels, as well as crumbled house walls, cracks in roads, and residents outside in the snow.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the earthquake was at a depth of 5 kilometres.

Emergency teams have been sent to the remote mountainous region.

Iranian officials said the quake was felt in the country but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Turkish public broadcaster TRT World said the tremor affected about 43 villages in Turkey, which has a history of powerful earthquakes.

There were also reports of buildings collapsing in the Turkish city of Van. The effects of the quake hit four villages there.

Seven of the fatalities occurred in Ozpinar village, where Mr Soylu said the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority had begun rescue work.

Crossed by major fault lines, Iran and Turkey are among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.

Last month, an quake in eastern Turkey killed more than 40 people and another in Iran caused structural damage to homes, without fatalities.

An Iranian official told state TV that rescue teams had been sent after the latest earthquake.

"So far, we've had no reports of damage or fatalities in the area, which is not a populated area in Iran's West Azerbaijan province," the official said.

But another said: "It is very likely that there will be casualties and damage."

The official said the earthquake was felt in several Iranian towns, including Khoy, Urmia and Salmas.

"Villages in the area suffered 10 per cent to 100 per cent damage. But we had no reports of deaths, only injuries," he told state TV.

The European centre reported several further quakes that measured up to magnitude 4.4.

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