The Government and the people of Pakistan convey their deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences over the reported loss of several lives as well as injuries to many more as a result of the earthquake in eastern Turkey.
![Rescue teams from neighbouring provinces were dispatched to the affected areas, working in the dark with floodlights in the freezing cold in an effort to find survivors [Ilyas Akengin/Demiroren News Agency via AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2020/1/24/6c97e7885c0c44e6968e836a29c07169_18.jpg)
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this natural calamity, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured.
As always, the people of Pakistan equally share the pain of their Turkish brothers and sisters and stand by them in this hour of grief.
The quake struck at 8:55pm local time (17:55 GMT), at a depth of 6.7km (4.1 miles) near the town of Sivrice in Elazig, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, said. It was followed by several aftershocks, the strongest with magnitudes 5.4 and 5.1.
Elazig is some 750km (465 miles) east of the capital, Ankara.
Some 30 buildings had collapsed from the quake in the two provinces, according to Murat Kurum, the environment minister.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that all measures were being taken to “ensure that the earthquake that occurred in Elazig and was felt in many provinces is overcome with the least amount of loss.”
People in Elazig whose homes were damaged or were too afraid to go indoors were being moved to student dormitories or sports centre amid freezing conditions.
