At least one person has been killed and dozens injured in a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey on Monday, causing some buildings to collapse. The region is still reeling from a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake that struck in February, killing more than 50,000 people across southern Turkey and northwest Syria.
The latest tremor was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, according to the country’s disaster management agency (AFAD). One person was killed when a factory collapsed in Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the earlier quake, and 69 others were injured. Yesilyurt’s mayor, Mehmet Cinar, reported that a number of buildings had collapsed, including a four-storey building where a father and daughter were trapped.
Television images showed the man being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance, while rescue teams attempted to make contact with his daughter inside the damaged building. Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reported from Gazientap that the quake was also felt by people living in temporary camps after being displaced by the earlier quakes. She said it generated fear and anguish among those affected.
The United Nations has estimated that 1.5 million people have been made homeless in southern Turkey, with more than 500,000 homes needing to be rebuilt. Since February 6, AFAD has reported nearly 10,000 aftershocks. Last week, Turkey began an operation to relocate people living in tents to container cities, with the first phase set to move people into 15,000 containers.
Turkish authorities have also launched a criminal probe into individuals responsible for buildings levelled by the deadly earthquake, and have been accused of lax safety enforcement ahead of the quakes. The aftermath of the disaster has left millions without homes and in need of assistance.