Eastern Turkey earthquake death toll rises to 20

At least 20 people have been killed and 1,015 others wounded in a powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey Friday night, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Saturday.

The earthquake occurred at 8:55pm local time (1755 GMT) in the province of Elazig at a depth of 6.75 kilometers and was followed by 228 aftershocks, according to the AFAD.

The Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute has revised the magnitude of the tremor from 6.8 to 6.5 on the Richter scale.

Search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the region, with at least 18 people rescued from the wreckage so far, national news broadcaster NTV reported.

Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said emergency teams were still searching for 30 missing people.

Residents of affected areas spent the night in the open air under temperatures of minus eight degrees Celcius, after the AFAD warned locals not to return to their homes due to the risk of further aftershocks.