An earthquake with a 5.7 magnitude shook Bingol province in eastern Turkey on Sunday, causing the collapse of a military observation tower which injured three people, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said the epicenter of the quake was in the Karliova district of Bingol.
Soylu said on Twitter that one security guard was trapped under the rubble of the observation tower in Karliova and later died.
Story continues below advertisement
Vice President Fuat Oktay, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said 18 people were injured in the temblor, but no one is in critical condition, according to Daily Sabah.
In January, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), killing at least 18 people.
The tremblor hit about 2 miles east-northeast of Doganyol, located about 100 miles north of the Syrian border. The USGS said the quake hit at a depth of about 6 miles.
And in February, nine people died and hundreds of buildings collapsed in southeastern Turkey after a magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck near the border with Iran, injuring dozens in villages and towns in both countries, government officials said.
Reuters and Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report