A powerful earthquake killed at least 21 people and injured more than a thousand in eastern Turkey, while rescue teams continued, today, to search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management said in a series of tweets on the social networking site "Twitter", that five people were rescued from the rubble in the eastern province of Elazig.

The official Anatolia News Agency reported that a pregnant woman who was among the neighborhoods was rescued 12 hours after the earthquake.

At least 30 people were missing after the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday night and was centered in the small town of Severija in Elazig province.

"It was scary, the furniture fell on us. We rushed to the outside," Malahat Jan, 47, of Alazig residents, told AFP.

In turn, Arai Ernek recounted how he was watching TV when the earthquake struck. He said: "I was on the sofa and fell to the ground. My father, who was asleep, was awakened by the earthquake."

"After we found a way out, we broke down the door and fled. We saw how other houses collapsed," he added.

Turkish state television broadcasts scenes of people hurrying with terror outside, as a building caught fire.

Rescuers continued searching for survivors who were trapped under the rubble of a five-storey building that collapsed in a village located about 30 km from Elazig, according to correspondents at the site. A person was rescued from the rubble, and those affected by the earthquake in Malatya were accommodated in sports centers, hostels and schools.