Nine dead in Turkey as 5.9 earthquake strikes northern Iran

At least nine people were killed and 50 others injured on Sunday in eastern Turkey from tremors after an earthquake hit Iran near the border with eastern Turkey. Less than ten hours later another earthquake struck the same area.  

The quake centered on the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.

Tremors from a 5.9-magnitude quake caused damage to buildings and many people are trapped under debris, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a news conference. 

He added that over 1,000 buildings had collapsed.

Emergency teams from both countries were sent to villages in the mountainous border region.

Governor of Iran's Azerbaijan province, Mohammad Mahdi Shahriari, said that some of the village houses were destroyed partly and some others completely.

Post-quake shocks 

Meanwhile, after the earthquake, a total of 24 aftershocks occurred, two of them over 4.0 magnitude, said Turkey's National Disaster and Management Authority (AFAD) in a statement.

AFAD said search and rescue teams and security forces were immediately sent to the region.

The needed aids were also dispatched to the region, it added.

"Initially, 1,280 tents, 6,120 blankets, 616 beds, and 1,000 electric heaters were dispatched to the region," it said.

Second strike

Another earthquake measuring 5.9 struck Iran's Khoy city, also felt in Turkey's eastern Van province. 

Anadolu Agency reported that some houses were destroyed in Gelenler neighbourhood of Baskale district in Van province. Some residential places were destroyed in the earthquake while no casualties were reported so far.

European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the quake was of 5.8 magnitude and had a depth of 2 km (0.6 miles).

Iran and Turkey are among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. Last month, an earthquake in the eastern Turkish province of Elazig killed more than 40 people.