ERCIS, Turkey (AP) -- Five people were pulled out alive Monday from the rubble in eastern Turkey after a 7.2-magnitude quake leveled buildings and killed some 272 people. Four of them were rescued after one managed to call for help with his cell phone.
Dozens of people were trapped in mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris after hundreds of buildings in two cities and mud-brick homes in nearby villages pancaked or partially collapsed in Sunday's earthquake.
Worst-hit was Ercis -- an eastern city of 75,000 close to the Iranian border that lies in one of Turkey's most earthquake-prone zones -- where about 80 multistory buildings collapsed.(24 images)
Dozens of people were trapped in mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris after hundreds of buildings in two cities and mud-brick homes in nearby villages pancaked or partially collapsed in Sunday's earthquake.
Worst-hit was Ercis -- an eastern city of 75,000 close to the Iranian border that lies in one of Turkey's most earthquake-prone zones -- where about 80 multistory buildings collapsed.(24 images)
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People rescue two women trapped under debris in Van eastsern Turkey after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011 according to the deputy Turkish prime minister. AP / Ali Ihsan Ozturk
Rescuers work to excavate people believed to be trapped under a collapsed building in Ercis, eastern Turkey, late Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers work to save people from debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers work to save people from debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers work to save people from of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Emergency crews work to rescue people from the rubble and debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers work to save people from of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescuers and local people work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
A man looks through debris for family members trapped under a collapsed building as rescuers work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
A Turkish mother, who declined to give her name, walks among the debris as she looks for her daughter, as rescuers work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
People wait for word from their family members as rescuers work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Rescue workers carry 21-year-old Tugba Altinkaynak on a stretcher after evacuating her from the rubble of an apartment building, more than a day after a powerful earthquake toppled the building, in the town of Ercis in Van province, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Selcan Hacaoglu
Oct. 23, 2011 - Van, Turkey - Residents sift through the ruins of a building reduced to rubble by an earthquake in eastern Turkey on Sunday. ZUMA24.com / Abdurrahman Antakyali
People walk by debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province of Turkey, on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Abaca Press / Fethullah Yaman
A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province of Turkey, on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Abaca Press / Fethullah Yaman
A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing about 45 buildings in Van province of Turkey, on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Abaca Press / Fethullah Yaman
Young men look at the debris of an apartment building folllowing a powerful earthquake in the town of Ercis in Van province, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Selcan Hacaoglu
People walk by debris of collapsed buildings in Ercis, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Men sit on the debris of a collapsed apartment building following a powerful earthquake in the town of Ercis in Van province, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Selcan Hacaoglu
A woman and a child wait for a tent at a tent city to be set up on a soccer filed in Ercis, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
Women wait near the debris of their collapsed house in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Burhan Ozbilici
A woman, center, mourns for her parents who lost their lives in a powerful earthquake in the town of Ercis in Van province, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. AP / Selcan Hacaoglu
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