November 12, 1999
Web posted at: 10:59 p.m. EST (0359 GMT)

In this story: 'There is nothing I can do at home' Athens: 'We are ready to help' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

DUZCE, Turkey (CNN) -- As the death toll climbed to at least 60, rescuers in Turkey struggled to retrieve survivors and bodies from the rubble of the country's latest deadly earthquake.

Turkish state television updated the number of casualties early Saturday, although there was no official tally. At least 1,000 people were believed to have been injured.

The 7.2-magnitude quake, felt several hundred kilometers away, occurred at 6:57 p.m. (1657 GMT) Friday.

Officials expect the toll to rise. Ambulances ferried victims to a hospital in the capital, Ankara.

A line of empty stretchers waited behind the sliding doors of the emergency service of Ankara Numune Hospital, where doctors and nurses hastily examined the injured.

GALLERY Chronology of major earthquakes since 1980     AUDIO Serdar Akinan, executive producer at CNN Turk, reports that authorities in Duzce were not prepared for the latest earthquake 332K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater   MESSAGE BOARD Mediterranean quakes

In Bolu, Reuters correspondents reported victims were treated in hospital parking lots as the buildings were deemed unsafe and kept empty due to cracks in their walls caused by the deadly quake that struck Turkey on August 17.

A crowd outside the hospital searched for names of their loved ones in lists posted on glass walls. Police cordoned off the emergency entrance to make work easier for hospital workers.

'There is nothing I can do at home'

"I am here because there is nothing I can do at home," said Kahramankara Cidar. "I cannot reach there by phone. I thought the best thing was to come here and see if I know anyone."

The hospital was inundated with offers for blood donations, but, having a full supply, staff informed the potential donors there would be a blood-donation drive if needed.

The Greek government offered assistance and readied rescue teams overnight. Greece will send doctors, quake damage experts and 40 fire department disaster workers to Turkey with medical and emergency supplies.

Athens: 'We are ready to help'

"We are ready to help the Turkish government and the Turkish people in any way we can," Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou was quoted as saying by state-run television.

The 30-second quake rocked Turkey's northwestern province of Bolu. It reduced buildings to rubble, damaged roads and left medical providers pleading for assistance.

Television pictures throughout Friday showed collapsed buildings and people seated around bonfires in the street.

Initial reports indicated 30 buildings had crumbled. If true, that would mean many others were severely damaged, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent spokesman Charles Evans said.

"That would obviously increase the trauma and uncertainty in a country that has been devastated by the August 17 quake," he said.

It was the second quake in the region in as many days. A 5.7-magnitude quake killed one person and injured 171 on Thursday in the industrial northwest, still recovering from the massive quake in August that killed more than 17,000 people.

Bolu province lies on the edges of the area affected by the August quake, which measured 7.4, leveled thousands of buildings and set off a chain of aftershocks that have continued throughout the fall. The pre-dawn tremor was one of the strongest and deadliest in Turkey's history.

Turkey's top earthquake expert, Ahmet Mete Isikara, said Friday's quake -- which struck just before 7 p.m. and included at least three aftershocks with magnitudes greater than 5.0 -- was not an aftershock from the August disaster.

Executive Producer Serdar Akinan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.