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Rescuers continued their battle in pulling living victims out of debris on Monday - 30 hours after a powerful quake hit the eastern city of Van.

As night fell, rescue teams managed to free a man, thought to be in his 30s, from underneath a pile of rubble in the town of Ercis - one of the worst affected areas.

The victim was rushed on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance to receive further medical treatment.

Rescuers also pulled out a woman from the rubble, as thousands of quake victims prepared to spend the night in makeshift tents.

At least 279 people are known to have died so far, as a result of the 7.2 magnitude quake, with more than 1,000 injured.

Many people are still stuck under the rubble of collapsed buildings and authorities are expecting the death toll to rise.

The quake toppled electricity cables to towns and villages across much of the barren Anatolian steppe near the Iranian border, severely hampering rescue efforts.

The Red Crescent say about 100 experts had reached the earthquake zone to coordinate rescue and relief operations.

Some 5,000 tents and 11,000 blankets, stoves and food were being distributed and mobile kitchens are being set up to feed those made homeless.

Sniffer dogs have joined the quest for survivors.

More than 200 aftershocks have jolted the region since the quake struck for around 25 seconds at 10:41 GMT on Sunday.