A strong earthquake struck Friday between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, collapsing several buildings in Turkey’s western Izmir province and leaving at least four people dead. Dozens more were injured.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that four people were killed in Izmir and 120 were injured. He said 38 ambulances, two ambulance helicopters and 35 medical rescue teams were working in Izmir. On Samos, some damage to buildings and the road network and four light injuries were reported.
The United States Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 7.0. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said it had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 with an epicenter 8 miles north-northeast of Samos. It is common for preliminary magnitudes to differ in the early hours and days after a quake. Multiple aftershocks struck the region.
Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer told CNN Turk about 20 buildings collapsed. The city is the third biggest in Turkey with about 4.5 million residents. Turkey’s interior minister tweeted six buildings in Izmir were destroyed. He said there were small cracks in some buildings in six other provinces.
The environment and urban planning minister, Murat Kurum, said people were trapped under the wreckage and rescue efforts were underway.
Turkish media showed wreckage of a multiple-story building in central Izmir, with people climbing it to start rescue efforts. At least one woman was seen being helped from the rubble of a collapsed building. Smoke was filmed in several spots in central Izmir.
Turkish media said the earthquake was felt across the regions of Aegean and Marmara, where Istanbul is located. Istanbul’s governor said there were no reports of damage.
The quake was felt across the eastern Greek islands and even in the Greek capital of Athens. Greek media said the residents of Samos and other islands fled their homes, while some rockfalls were reported.
“The walls of some houses have crumbled and several buildings are damaged,” the deputy mayor of Samos, Michalis Mitsios, was quoted as saying by public broadcaster ERT.
Greek seismologist Efthymis Lekkas a tsunami couldn’t be ruled out, according to the AFP.
