ISTANBUL- Search-and-rescue efforts continued on Sunday after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing 41 people and injuring more than 1,600 others. Nearly 4,000 rescue workers combed through debris in freezing temperatures, helped by mechanical diggers, as hope was fading two days after the quake hit. Three bodies were found in the city centre, nearly 40 hours after the 6.8-magnitude quake struck on Friday evening. Hours later, two more bodies were found bringing the death toll to 38 in Elazig province and nearby Malatya, state broadcaster TRT reported. Workers were searching for two people still under the rubble,Hurriyet daily newspaper said. Residents were still waiting to find out what had happened to their relatives. A group of women burst into tears on learning that the body of a relative had been found, while one woman fainted, an AFP photographer said. But rescue workers have so far saved 45 people, the authorities say. The government’s disaster and emergency management agency (AFAD) said 1,607 were injured, 13 of them in intensive care. The magnitude 6.8 quake that struck on Friday evening had its epicentre in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in Elazig province and was felt in neighbouring countries. Elazig is some 750km (465 miles) east of the capital, Ankara.