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The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said over 1,600 people were injured and 45 people had been pulled from the rubble so far.

Rescue workers search the site of a collapsed building, after an earthquake in Elazig, Turkey on January 26, 2020. (Reuters)

The death toll from a powerful earthquake which struck eastern Turkey rose to 41, officials said on Sunday, as rescue efforts continued.

The magnitude 6.8 quake hit on Friday evening, with its epicentre in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in Elazig province but also affected neighbouring cities and countries.

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said 41 people died, the majority in Elazig but at least four in nearby Malatya, and over 1,600 were injured.

Rescuers scrambled all of Saturday and searched Sunday to rescue people alive from under the rubble.

The latest number of individuals rescued was 45, according to AFAD.

Nearly 80 buildings collapsed while 645 were heavily damaged in Elazig and Malatya, the agency said in a statement.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised on Saturday that Turkey's housing agency TOKI would "do whatever is necessary and make sure no one is left without a home".

Earlier on Saturday, Erdogan visited the region and attended the funeral of two victims.

"We have borne many earthquakes but the nation has risen above them patiently," said Erdogan, asking citizens to exercise strength in their weakest hour.

Condolences poured in from world over, including from the US, Russia, Germany, France, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies