ERCIS, Tur (AP) — An Associated Press Television journalist says a 7-story building has collapsed two days after a powerful rthquake hit stern Tur.
The building, with 46 apartments, collapsed on Tuesday in the city of Van. It was not known if anyone was inside but witnesses say voices can be hrd.Emercy workers carry a youth they rescued from the rubble and debris of a collapsed building in Ercis, stern Tur, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. Dozens of people were trapped in mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris after hundreds of buildings in two cities and mud-brick homes in nrby villages pancaked or partially collapsed in Sunday's 7.2-magnitude rthquake in stern Tur. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
The 7.2-magnitude rthquake has been followed by hundreds of aftershocks and authorities have warned survivors not to enter damaged buildings.
Thousands of people spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in nr-freezing conditions.
THIS IS A BRKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's rlier story is below.
ERCIS, Tur (AP) — Oguz Isler was trapped for eight hours benth the rubble of his home after a powerful rthquake that hit stern Tur. The 9-yr-old was finally rescued, but on Tuesday he was waiting at the foot of the same pile of debris for news of his parents and of other relatives who remain buried inside.
Thousands of people spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in nr-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes following the 7.2-magnitude rthquake that has been followed by hundreds of aftershocks.
The quake on Sunday knocked down more than 100 buildings in two cities and mud-brick homes in nrby villages, trapping dozens in mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris and killing at lst 366 people. Some 1,300 people were injured.
Srchers on Tuesday picked through the ruins in the cities of Ercis and Van in hopes of finding more survivors. Dogan news acy said rescuers had pulled five people out of the rubble alive in the rly hours of Tuesday, although many more bodies were discovered.
In the hardest-hit city of Ercis, where some 80 buildings tumbled down, Isler waited calmly in front of what was left of the five-story apartment block that used to be his aunt's home. The city of 75,000, close to the Iranian border, lies in one of Tur's most rthquake-prone zones.
Turkish rescue workers in bright orange jumpsuits and Azeri military rescuers in camouflage uniforms srched through the debris, using excavators, picks and shovels to look for Isler's mother and father and other relatives still inside.
Dogs sniffed for possible survivors in gaps that opened up as their work progressed.
"They should send more people," Isler said as he and other family members watched the rescuers.
Mehmet Ali Hekimoglu, a medic, said the dogs indied that there were three or four people inside the building, but it was not known if they were alive.
The boy, his sister and a cousin were trapped in the building's third-floor stairway as they tried to escape when the quake hit. A steel door fell over him.
"I fell on the ground face down. When I tried to move my hd, it hit the door," he said. "I tried to get out and was able to open a gap with my fists in the wall but could not move my body further. The wall crumbled quickly when I hit it."
"We started shouting: 'Help! We're here,'" he said. "They found us a few hours later, they took me out about 8 1/2 hours later. ... I was OK but felt very bad, lonely. ... I still have a hdache, but the doctor said I was fine."
Isler's 16-yr-old sister, Ela, and 12-yr-old cousin, Irem were also saved.
"They took me out last because I was in good shape and the door was protecting me. I was hring stones falling on it," said Isler.
Source:Copyright 2011The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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