Ankara: The death toll from the massive earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale that jolted eastern Turkey has increased to 22, the government said on Saturday. The quake hit the Elazig province at 8.55 pm on Friday night, with its epicentre in Sivrice district, along with neighbouring provinces and countries including Syria and Georgia. "Four people died in Malatya's Doganyol town and 18 others in Elazig," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the media.

A total of 39 people were also rescued from the rubble of collapsed houses and buildings, Soylu added. He said that it was decided to evacuate a prison in Turkey's eastern Adiyaman province which was damaged as a result of the quake. Meanwhile, health minister Fahrettin Koca said that 128 injured people were receiving treatment in hospitals and 34 of them were in intensivecare units.