5.7-Magnitude Quake Hurts 37 in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey – An earthquake (search) with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 shook southeastern Turkey (search) on Monday, injuring at least 37 people, officials said

The quake struck near the town of Karliova, in rural Bingol province, some 560 miles southeast of the capital, Ankara (search), the Kandilli Observatory said.

The quake caused several homes to collapse in nearby villages and at least 37 people were injured, most with minor injuries, Bingol Gov. Vehbi Avuc said.

Avuc said most of the homes that collapsed were already damaged in an earlier quake in March.

"We are happy that there were no deaths," Avuc said.

"The quake has caused quite a panic and we are trying to provide psychological support," he added.

Monday's quake occurred at 10:41 a.m. It was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Erzurum, Mus and Tunceli, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Quakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies atop the active North Anatolian fault. Two devastating earthquakes killed about 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey in 1999.

In 1995, a magnitude 6.4 quake killed 177 people in Bingol.