Strongest earthquake in years rocks Turkey

The death toll from the earthquake, which took place on Sunday in the south-east of Turkey, climbed to 217 people. Over 1,000 were injured in the disaster, Turkey's Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said.

As many as 117 bodies were recovered from under the debris in the town of Ercis, the minister said.

According to Turkey's Interior Ministry, as many as 100 people were killed in the town of Van. Nearly 1,090 were injured, Interfax reports.

The death toll may continue to climb since many people are still missing. Hundreds are still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Local seismologists say that the death toll from the largest natural disaster in Turkey in years may climb to 500 or 1,000 people, RIA Novosti reports.

The 7.2 magnitude quake took place in Turkey's Van province on Sunday, at about 1:50 p.m. The first quake claimed 70 lives. A series of aftershocks followed. The magnitude of the strongest of them was measured 6.0 - it took place the same day in the evening.