A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Turkish province of Van, in the southeast of the country, on Sunday, October 23, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The earthquake, which was the second to rock the country in the past 24 hours, was registered about 20 km (12 miles) from the city of Van at the depth of some 10 km (6.2 miles), RIA Novosti reported.

The first powerful tremor, measured at magnitude 7.2, struck southeastern Turkey on Sunday at 13:40 local time (10:40 a.m. GMT) ruining apartment buildings and other facilities in the city of Van as well as in the neighboring town of Ercis.

According to Today’s Zaman, Turkish Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin said at least 217 killed and more than 1,000 people injured when a powerful earthquake struck Turkey, collapsing dozens of buildings and pulling down phone and power lines in the southeast of the country. More than 1,000 people are feared killed in the earthquake.