Quake kills 8 in eastern Turkey

TUNCELI, Turkey (Reuters) - A strong earthquake killed eight people in a village in eastern Turkey early on Monday and rescuers were working to free survivors trapped under the rubble, officials and local media said.

Turkey's Kandilli earthquake observatory said the quake measured 6.0 magnitude and had its epicentre at Basyurt in Elazig province and struck at 4:32 am local time (2:32 a.m. British time).

Eight people, four of them children, were killed in the village of Okcular in Elazig province, broadcaster CNN Turk said. At least 10 people were taken to hospital with injuries.

A Red Crescent team has reached the quake zone and set up a crisis centre, the news channel said, meanwhile rescuers worked to search for survivors still trapped under rubble.

More than a dozen smaller aftershocks followed the main quake, Kandilli said.

Panicked residents rushed out of their houses onto the streets when the quake hit and many stayed outside fearing aftershocks in the town of Tunceli, some 40 miles (64 km) from the epicentre of the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.9 magnitude and said it had a shallow depth of 6.2 miles. Quakes of magnitude 6 and higher are capable of causing severe damage.

"There was a lot of fear and panic among the people. It lasted about a minute. We felt it very strongly and everyone tried to get out onto the street," Nursel Sengezer, a Dogan News Agency correspondent in Elazig, told broadcaster CNN Turk.

Turkey is criss-crossed with faultlines and frequently suffers earthquakes. A large earthquake measuring 7.4 killed some 18,000 people in August 1999.

(Reporting by Daren Butler; Writing by Jon Hemming)