The first and most destructive of the 2020 Iran–Turkey earthquakes occurred on 23 February, near Khoy in north-west Iran, close to the border with Turkey, killing 9 people in Başkale, Van.

[2] It hit at 9:23 a.m. local time (05:53 UTC) with a magnitude of 5.8 Mw[1] at a depth of 6 kilometres (3.7 miles)[3] and the epicenter was Qotur district, according to the Iranian Seismological Center (IRSC).

[9] The area of significant damage stretched from the city of Van in the west to Khoy in Iran to the east.

More than 1,000 buildings were destroyed in Turkey,[10] with many others damaged in 43 affected villages in Iran.

[11] The Turkish health ministry reported that nine people had died, four of them children,[12] with another 66 injured.