TURKISH Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said today seven people, including three children, were killed in eastern Turkey after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Iran, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Five people were injured and taken to hospital, Soylu said, adding that other people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. 

“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing,” he said. 

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9.23am, was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10km from the border, according to the US Geological Survey. 

The earthquake had a depth of 6km, according to Tehran University’s Seismological Centre.

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

Anadolu said the quake caused damage in several villages in neighbouring Van province. 

The province was struck earlier this month by two avalanches that killed 41 people. – AFP, February 23, 2020.