Turks in plea for quake-proofing

Not enough is being done to enforce building standards, say quake experts

SULTANDAGI, Turkey -- Seismologists have called for stricter building codes in Turkey's earthquake zones after 43 people died in the latest quake disaster.

The 6.0 magnitude quake, which hit a large swathe of central Turkey on Sunday, knocked down old mud-brick homes as well as recently built workshops and government buildings.

Many people camped in the open for a third day fearing to return indoors after a total of 500 aftershocks were felt.

Officials said the death toll could have been higher if the quake had struck during the week when people were at work.

The authorities have launched investigations into two construction companies, the Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday. The government imposed strict inspections on buildings in parts of northwest Turkey where two massive earthquakes killed 18,000 people in 1999.

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Shoddy building work was blamed for the large number of deaths in those quakes, and some builders have since been put on trial.

Geology experts and some contractors have called for the controls to be rapidly extended to other parts of the country.

"A magnitude-6 earthquake is not a very powerful earthquake, no one should have died," Nihat Ozdemir, the head of the Turkish Constructors' Association, told the Associated Press.

The association has mounted a campaign against builders accused of using cheap and sub-standard materials

"There is still uncontrolled construction. This is murder," Ahmet Mete Isikara, the head of the Istanbul-based Kandilli seismology centre told AP. Officials in Sultandagi, the quake's epicentre, and in surrounding towns, called off the search for survivors or bodies on Monday.

Soldiers and aid workers erected tents to shelter the homeless and for those afraid to return to their homes despite freezing temperatures.

More than 600 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the quake. More than 300 people were injured, including at least 26 people who jumped from windows or balconies fearing they would be killed or trapped in rubble.

On Monday in Sultandagi the first victims of the earthquake were buried as recriminations begin against the government's aid programme.

More than 200 mourners gathered outside a damaged mosque for the funeral of the first six victims of the tragedy.