ANKARA, January 26. /TASS/. The death toll from the powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey has risen to 38, Turkey’s Directorate of Disaster and Emergency said on Sunday.

Earlier reports put the number of quake victims at 35. As many as 1,607 were hurt.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that more than 100 people hurt in the quake were still in hospitals.

According to the Directorate of Disaster and Emergency, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred on January 24 in the eastern Elazig province, home to nearly 400,000 people.

The epicenter of the quake was located at a depth of ten kilometers. The quake also affected the neighboring province of Malatya. Earth tremors were felt in many regions of the country and also in Israel, Iraq, and Syria.