Relief work underway after powerful quake hit eastern Turkish Van province

A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the eastern Turkish province of Van on Sunday, and the death toll from the quake has risen to 269. The Turkish government has sent rescue teams to the seriously damaged Ercis town in the quake-hit Van which has one million population after the earthquake. In central Ercis, several buildings collapsed with debris like broken glass, damaged roofs being scattered everywhere. Dozens of ambulances shuttled between Ercis and Van city to deliver the injured. Fortunately, roads remain open despite the heavy damage to the town. Murat Ismail, a local resident in Ercis, told Xinhua "the quake came suddenly and the town turned into debris in just 30 seconds." He said he was at home when the earthquake struck the town at around 13:41 p.m. local time (1041 GMT). Normally, it was the afternoon break in Turkey. Doctors in the Van province called for more help via local media as more and more injured people were found in the debris. The Turkish Red Crescent has set up tents for survivors at Van' s exit highway to the Ercis district. Ahment Sahin, a rescuer in Ercis, told Xinhua "rescue work will continue. We will not give up even with slim of hope." A total of 1,275 rescue teams from 44 Turkish provinces have reached Van province so far, Turkey 's TRT television quoted prime ministry's office as saying. The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute originally put the magnitude of Sunday's earthquake at 6. 6 on the Richter scale, but later revised it up to 7.2. Turkey, lying atop the North Anatolian fault, has been plagued by earthquakes frequently. On March 8, 2010, at least 38 people died and dozens of others were injured after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Elazig province in eastern Turkey. On Aug. 17, 1999, two powerful earthquakes, measuring 6.7 and 7. 4 on the Richter scale respectively, hit northwestern and western Turkey, killing about 18,000 people and affecting hundreds of thousands of others. A major earthquake hit Van province in November 1976, with 5, 291 confirmed dead.