ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey's state-run news agency says a Japanese aid worker has died in a hospital after he was pulled from the rubble of a quake-toppled hotel in eastern Turkey.
The Anatolia agency says Atsushi Miyazaki, of the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan, was severely injured when the Bayram Hotel in the city of Van collapsed Wednesday night. He was pulled out on Thursday.
The agency says rescue workers had performed CPR on Miyazaki for about 15 minutes before taking him to the hospital in serious condition.
His 32-year-old female colleague, Miyuki Konnai, was rescued alive from the wreckage of the same hotel.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? A powerful earthquake leveled a top hotel in eastern Turkey, burying foreign aid workers and journalists who rushed to the area in the aftermath of a devastating temblor two weeks ago. At least seven people were killed in the new quake, authorities said Thursday, and some 26 people had been rescued, among them two Japanese relief workers.
The Bayram Hotel survived last month's magnitude-7.2 temblor with some cracks and a damaged elevator. But it toppled in Wednesday's magnitude-5.7 quake, trapping several people under tons of concrete and twisted metal in a grim replay of the destruction last month.
The quake knocked down 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of the buildings, including two hotels, were occupied because most were evacuated after the first quake, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
The Anatolia agency said Atsushi Miyazaki, of the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan, was dug out from the rubble of the Bayram Hotel on Thursday. Rescue workers performed CPR on Miyazaki for about 15 minutes before taking him to the hospital in serious condition, the agency said.
His 32-year-old female colleague, Miyuki Konnai, was rescued alive from the wreckage of the same hotel late Wednesday.
Two reporters from Turkey's Dogan news agency, Sebahattin Yilmaz and Cem Emir, were still believed to be trapped in the wreckage.
"The quake happened as our colleagues were trying to file their stories in the hotel's lobby," Dogan said.
Ozgur Gunes, a cameraman for Turkey's Cihan news agency, told Haber Turk television on Wednesday that some trapped journalists had sent text messages to colleagues asking to be rescued.
He had left the hotel before the quake, but rushed back to collect his camera after it struck, only to find that the building toppled.
"There was dust everywhere and the hotel was flattened," he said. He told Sky Turk television that the building had some small cracks before the quake, but that he and other guests were told that there was no structural damage.
Atalay said authorities were not able to conduct a full inspection of the buildings for damage to explain why the collapsed hotels were allowed to operate.
The government quickly dispatched hundreds of rescue workers to the area as it tried to cope with the misery of thousands of homeless following the Oct. 23 temblor that destroyed at least 2,000 buildings, killing more than 600 people in Van and in the worst-hit town of Ercis.
Ikuko Natori, overseas operations manager of the AAR Japan, earlier said Konnai was in stable condition.
"We spoke with her briefly, she is in a hospital at the moment," Natori told The Associated Press by telephone from Tokyo, Japan. "She had a slight injury but it is not life threatening."
Miyazaki became the 26th person to be rescued injured but alive. Rescuers pulled at least two more people from the same wreckage earlier Thursday.
The exact number of people at the Bayram Hotel was not known. CNN-Turk television said a number of people were also said to be waiting at an office of an inter-city bus firm under the hotel when the quake hit, while some others were seen at an adjacent pastry shop.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.7 and that its epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of Van. It struck at 9:23 p.m. (1923 GMT, 2:23 p.m. EST).
About 1,400 aftershocks have rocked the region since the massive earthquake on Oct. 23, which killed more than 600 and left thousands homeless. Many residents had been living in tents, despite the cold, too afraid to return to their homes.
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