Magnitude 5.6 quake hits Turkey in latest major aftershock | Turkey-Syria Earthquake News
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Authorities say at least one person has died in a factory collapse in the area, which is still reeling from previous devastation.
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least one person and injuring dozens while some damaged buildings collapsed.
Monday’s earthquake became the latest major quake to rock southern Turkey as the region rebuilds from earlier massive tremors that killed more than 50,000 people in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria.
The latest quake struck in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, the country’s Disaster Management Agency (AFAD) said, adding that one person was killed when a factory collapsed in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the region hit on February 6, and 69 others were injured.
Yesilyurt Mayor Mehmet Cinar told HaberTurk television station that a number of buildings in the city collapsed, including a four-story building enclosing a father and daughter.
Cinar said the couple entered the damaged building to retrieve belongings.
Television footage showed the man being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance while rescue workers attempted to contact his daughter inside the damaged building.
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo, reporting from Gazientap, said the quake was also felt by people living in makeshift camps after being displaced by the earlier tremors.
“The earthquake was also felt here in central Gaziantep, right where those affected by the February 6 earthquake are now living in tents. It has created fear and agony once again,” Bo said.
According to the United Nations, at least 1.5 million people have been made homeless in southern Turkey, and more than 500,000 houses have to be rebuilt.
Almost 10,000 aftershocks have been reported since February 6, according to the AFAD.
Last week Turkey said about 865,000 people were living in tents and 23,500 in container houses, while 376,000 were living in student dormitories and public guest houses outside the earthquake zone.
The latest quake comes days after Turkey began an operation to relocate people living in tents to container cities, with the first phase aiming to relocate people into 15,000 containers.
Turkish authorities have widened a criminal probe into those responsible for buildings destroyed by the deadly earthquake that left millions homeless.
The government has also been accused of being lax in enforcing safety measures prior to the tremors.