ISTANBUL • A magnitude-5.7 earthquake in north-western Iran yesterday killed at least eight people in neighbouring Turkey and injured dozens more on both sides of the border.

"We lost eight of our citizens, including three children," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that 21 people were injured and eight of them were in critical condition.

Turkish broadcaster NTV showed images of collapsed houses in several villages in Van province on the Iran border.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with his Interior Minister to receive information about the search and rescue operation in the region, the Turkish presidency said.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9.23am, was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10km from the border, according to the US Geological Survey.

The earthquake had a depth of 6km, according to Teheran University's Seismological Centre.

It injured at least 40 people and 17 of them have been hospitalised in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, according to the country's emergency services. The same source also said there was damage to buildings in 43 villages.

Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and sees frequent seismic activity.

In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in the western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.

Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.

Turkey's Van province was struck earlier this month by two avalanches that killed 41 people.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE