An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude struck in Turkey's eastern city of Van near the Iranian border toppling 80 buildings and killing 70 people on Sunday afternoon.

About 50 of the fatalities were from the worst hit town of Ercis, where 80 buildings collapsed, according to BBC. Ercis is located 60 kilometres north of Van, which is 1,200 kilometres from the capital Ankara and has a population of 380,000.
In Van, 10 buildings collapsed.

In the district of Celebibag, near Ercis, many people are also under the rubble screaming for help, said local mayor Veysel Keser.

Rescuers are digging for survivors trapped under the rubble until nighhttime. Ambulances and soldiers also came to Van and Ercis to help find survivors.

The Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul said the quake struck at 1:41 local time in the village of Tabanli. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.3 followed by a series of aftershocks of 5.6 magnitude about 15 minutes later.

The USGS located the epicenter of the earthquake at 16 kilometres northeast of Van and 20 kilometres underground. The epicenter of the aftershock was at 19 kilometres northeast of Van at a depth of 19 kilometres.

The aftershocks struck the villages of Ilikaynak and Gedikbulak.

he Turkish Red Crescent, meanwhile, sent rescue teams to Van and Ercis. Hakki Erskoy, who is from the rescue and relief organization, said shelters and mobile kitchens were set up while blankets, food and water were given to survivors.

The Van airport was damaged by the earthquake and arriving planes were diverted to Erzurum province, 400 kilometres from Van.

Earthquake is common in Turkey because the country sits on several fault lines. Two earthquakes in 1999 killed 20,000 people northeast of the country.