A 7.3 magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey Sunday has killed 500 to 1,000 people, the head of a seismological institute in Istanbul said Sunday.
 

An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey Sunday, with a seimological institute estimating up to 1,000 people could lie dead under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings. (AFP Photo/Abdurrahman Antakyali)

"500 to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told a news conference.

The strong quake struck the eastern Turkish city of Van, leaving dozens of people injured after several buildings collapsed, officials said.

Around 40 buildings including a dormitory collapsed in the city and surrounding area, Interior Minister Besir Atalay told reporters.

Earthquake-prone Turkey lies atop several fault lines.

Two strong quakes in the heavily populated and industrialised northwestern regions claimed some 20,000 lives in 1999.

And a powerful earthquake in the town of Caldiran in Van province killed 3,840 people in 1976.