AFP

The southeastern region of Turkey was hit by a massive earthquake early on Monday, March 8, 2010. The quake was recorded to be 6.0 magnitude and hit mostly rural part of the country. So far, 57 people have been killed with dozens more who are injured according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News.

The aftershocks of the Turkey earthquake have ranged from 5.3 – 5.5 magnitude. Local residence and soldiers help each other to dig through the rubble hoping to find more survivors.

Since the earthquake happened before dawn, most people were asleep in their homes. The Turkey earthquake epicenter epicenter was in the Karakocan town of Elazig, one of the poorest parts of the country, at a depth of 5 km at 4:32 a.m. local time (0232 GMT), said the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute of Turkey’s Bogazici University.

Tremors were also felt in neighboring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir, the Hurriyet Daily News reports. The institute has so far reported 27 aftershocks and more are expected over the next hours and days. Turkish elementary and secondary schools, as well as businesses, around the disaster area will be closed for a minimum of 2 days.

The Turkish Red Crescent had already set up 500 tents and foodstuff to the quake zone, while State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, other senior officials and doctors had left the capital Ankara for Elazig, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The number of dead is expected to climb throughout the day as rescuers continue to dig for survivors through the rubble of the collapsed houses.

On Feb. 21, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Gokdere region of Elazig, but no damage was reported. Turkey is an earthquake-prone country because much of its territories are lying atop the North Anatolian fault. In 1999, a 7.6 earthquake hit the country killing more than 18,000 people.