ISTANBUL — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday, inflicting a few dozen buildings to break down, an official mentioned. No less than two individuals had been trapped within the particles of a collapsed constructing.
The earthquake, with an epicenter within the city of Sindirgi, despatched shocks that had been felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) away in Istanbul, a metropolis of greater than 16 million individuals.
Sindirgi’s mayor Serkan Sak instructed HaberTurk that 4 individuals had been rescued from a collapsed constructing within the city whereas rescuers had been making an attempt to succeed in two different individuals from the construction.
A number of homes additionally collapsed within the close by village of Golcuk, he mentioned. The minaret of a mosque additionally tumbled down within the village.
Turkey’s Catastrophe and Emergency Administration Company mentioned the earthquake was adopted by a number of aftershocks, together with one measuring 4.6, and urged residents to not enter broken buildings.
Turkey sits on high of main fault strains and earthquakes are frequent.
In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed greater than 53,000 individuals in Turkey and destroyed or broken a whole bunch of 1000’s of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. One other 6,000 individuals had been killed within the northern elements of neighboring Syria.