Eight Killed In Southeastern Turkey, Many Feared Trapped

Earthquake in Turkey: There have also been reports of building collapses in the Turkish city of Van. (File)

Istanbul, Turkey:

Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu said eight people were killed in eastern Turkey on Sunday after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Iran, the official news agency Anadolu reported.

He said three of the dead were children, adding that some other people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.

The Turkish broadcaster NTV showed pictures of damage in several villages in the Van province on the Iranian border.

"Search and rescue efforts are ongoing," said Suleyman Soylu.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 21 people were injured and eight of them were in critical condition, according to Anadolu.

The epicenter of the quake, which broke out at 9:23 a.m., was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10 kilometers from the border, according to the US Geological Survey.

According to the Seismological Center of the University of Tehran, the earthquake was six kilometers deep.

It injured at least 25 people and damaged a number of homes in four villages in the western Azerbaijan province of Iran, Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesman for the country's emergency services, told AFP.

The news agency said the earthquake had damaged several villages in Van province.

The province was hit by two avalanches earlier this month that killed 41 people.

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)