***NHK****

Turkey quake kills more than 200

The search for survivors in Turkey is continuing into the night after a powerful earthquake killed more than 200 people.

The magnitude 7.2 quake struck eastern Turkey, close to its border with Iran, on Sunday.

Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin says the earthquake killed at least 217 people and injured 1,090 others.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the disaster area on Sunday. He said he does not know how many people remain trapped inside collapsed buildings, and promised to expedite rescue efforts.

More than 1,200 emergency workers, along with military personnel, are taking part in the rescue operations amid continuing aftershocks.

Survivors spending the night in tents without electricity built fires to keep warm. Temperatures in the area dropped to about 3 degrees Celsius overnight.

Countries including the United States, Israel and Greece have offered to send rescue workers and relief supplies.

Van Province is an area prone to earthquakes. In 1976, it suffered a magnitude 7.3 quake that killed more than 5,000 people.

Monday, October 24, 2011 12:38 +0900 (JST)