Istanbul, Jan 25 (AFP/APP):A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 14 people, causing buildings to collapse and sending panicked residents rushing into the street. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said all steps were being taken to aid people at the scene of the quake, which had its epicentre in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in the eastern province of Elazig. “We stand by our people,” Erdogan said on twitter, in his first comments about the quake, which caused widespread fear. “It was very scary, furniture fell on top of us. We rushed outside,” 47-year-old Melahat Can, who lives in the provincial capital of Elazig, told AFP. “We will spend the coming days in a farmhouse outside the city,” she said. The Turkish government’s disaster and emergency management agency (AFAD) said the quake hit Sivrice at around 8.55 pm (1755 GMT). The agency said the quake killed eight people in Elazig province and six others in the neighbouring province of Malatya, which lies to the southwest. The US Geological Survey assessed its magnitude at 6.7, and said it had a depth of 10 kilometres (about six miles). Turkish television showed images of … Continue reading Powerful quake kills 14 people in eastern Turkey