Earthquake Victims Riot in Turkey

Hopes faded for dozens of children trapped in the rubble of a school in quake-hit eastern Turkey as a protest over the official handling of the disaster boiled over into violent clashes between police and quake victims. Rescuers working around-the-clock in the wreckage of a boarding school in the village of Celtiksuyu managed to pull out only one survivor by Friday evening and admitted they were starting to lose hope. Six other children were rescued overnight, and 21 bodies recovered. Cries for help from under the rubble that had led rescuers to scores of survivors died away Friday and heavy earth-moving machines were given the go-ahead to start removing the debris.

"Neither the listening devices nor the dogs were able to detect any sound. I cannot say I am hopeful but there is always a chance and we will work until the end," one rescuer said.

Another added: "The possibility of finding people alive is now very low."

Parents watched with heavy hearts and tearful eyes as bulldozers and cranes moved into the wreckage. About 200 children were trapped early Thursday when the earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the poverty-stricken mainly Kurdish province of Bingol, killing 127 people and injuring nearly 540 others across the region. Bingol's deputy governor Ahmet Aydin told Anatolia news agency that 117 of the pupils in Celtiksuyu survived the disaster, while 46 children and one teacher were killed. He estimated that up to 40 children were still buried.

In nearby Bingol city, meanwhile, police clashed with crowds protesting at the slow distribution of tents following the tremor. In chaotic scenes, security forces fired dozens of rounds in the air with automatic rifles as many protestors threw themselves on the ground. The unrest, which underscored tensions between authorities and the region's mainly Kurdish population, resulted in the sacking of the city's police chief. The incident erupted when several hundred people gathered in front of the governor's office to ask for tents after spending the night in the streets as a precaution against continuing aftershocks. Police intervened when the angry crowd resisted orders to disperse and chanted anti-government slogans, while several people attempted to storm the office of the governor.

The rage flared when a police van drove into the crowd. Protestors attacked the security forces with sticks and stones and pounded police vehicles as well as private cars with iron bars.

More bursts of gunfire echoed in the city as policemen continued to shoot in the air, taking cover behind buildings and plastic shields, in running battles with protestors.

Several people, among them journalists, were injured in the unrest, which abated after Ankara announced the sacking of the police chief.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "according to information from intelligence sources, there have been very serious acts of provocation" aimed at disrupting public order. Tayyip Erdogan blamed provocateurs for rioting in the earthquake-struck city of Bingol on Friday but, without criticizing police, said the local police chief had been sacked from his post. He said relief work in the area was on track and called on the quake victims to show patience.

Protestors, however, disagreed.

"The aid is not distributed equally. Relatives and acquaintances of parliament members receive more," said Fahrettin Demirel. "We were expecting understanding, but we were answered with bullets."

But for 13-year-old Enes Gunce, the only person pulled alive from the school debris on Friday, the day marked a miracle.

"When I woke up this morning I felt terrible pains and started to shout. They heard me and came to save me," Gunce, who was trapped under a bunk bed, told Anatolia after a 10-hour rescue operation. His rescue -- 30 hours after the disaster -- was greeted with cheers and applause, but for many mothers and fathers with no news of their children, it was yet another disappointment.

"I do not expect my son to come out alive. I am now waiting for his body," said Pakize Isler as she sat helpless on the ground.

Angry parents and experts have blamed the death toll in the boarding school on poor building standards, and authorities announced Friday that a probe had been launched against the company that built the school. Disregard for building regulations and widespread fraud in Turkey's construction sector have long been blamed for thousands of casualties that the quake-prone country has suffered in recent years.