31 people have died and hundreds have been injured after a strong earthquake hit the eastern Turkey on Friday evening. Town of Sivrice in eastern Elazig province was the center of the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that resulted in the collapse of at least 10 buildings in the province of Elazig.

18 deaths have been confirmed in Elazig province while four are reported in Malatya according to the numbers given by Turkish Interior Minister Sulyman Soylu. 39 people were rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building overnight while 22 have yet to be pulled from the site, Soylu recorded while speaking to press.

Around 1243 people were wounded by the powerful quake that jolted the eastern province according to statement published by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD). Videos from IHA Broadcasting Services showed emergency respondents rescuing the injured. Talking to the reporters Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum revealed that five buildings were collapsed and those which didn’t collapse were heavily damaged.

As per the initial reports given by AFAD, the quake lasted 40 seconds. 3,699 personnel and police have been involved in search and rescue operations to hunt the survivors. 15 aftershocks have also been reported with the strongest recorded at 5.4 magnitude. The shaking at the ground was big because of the low depth (10km) of the quake as estimated by US Geological Survey.

The storing tremors were felt by 500,000 people across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Edessa TV anchor and panelists were rocked by the quake during a live show. Turkish Premier on early Saturday said that all relevant departments and ministries are robustly involved for the safety of citizenry adding that environment ministers were sent to the different sites in Elazig.