A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck western Turkey on Sunday, killing one person and causing about a dozen buildings to collapse.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in Sindirgi, south of the city of Balikesir, at a depth of 10km, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre and the German Research Centre for Geosciences reported.
Tremors were felt in Istanbul and across several provinces.
Aftershocks ranging between magnitude 3.4 and 4.6 were felt in the area, the EMSC reported.
Balikesir's Mayor Ahmet Akin said one person had died on the way to the hospital after being rescued from under the rubble of a collapsed building.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 29 people had been injured but none of the injuries were serious, according to Anadolu Agency.
Several houses collapsed in the nearby village of Golcuk, he said. The minaret of a mosque also tumbled down in the village.
Turkey’s disaster management agency has began field surveys, Turkish media reported, urging citizens not to enter damaged buildings.
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Rescuers pull a person from the rubble in Balikesir province after a building collapsed following a 6.1-magnitude quake that struck Sindirgi in western Turkey. AFP -
Search and rescue teams stand next to a collapsed building after the quake which killed one person and caused about a dozen buildings to collapse. Reuters -
A building that collapsed after the quake. Tremors were felt in Istanbul and across several provinces. Reuters -
Rescue teams work in the rubble of a destroyed building. Aftershocks ranging between magnitude 3.4 and 4.6 were felt in the area. AFP -
A woman sits near the site of a building (not pictured) that collapsed after the quake. Reuters -
Rescuers work at the site of a building that collapsed after the earthquake. Reuters -
The location of a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that hit western Turkey. The epicentre was recorded 11km south by south-west from Bigadic at a depth of 10km. EPA
"All AFAD teams and the relevant institutions have immediately begun searches on the ground. No undesirable event has been flagged up 'til now," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
In February 2023, a magnitude 7.8-earthquake in south-western Turkey killed at least 53,000 people and devastated Antakya. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighbouring Syria.
More recently, a magnitude-5.8 tremor in the same region resulted in one death and injured 69 people at the start of July.
-With agencies
