At least one person died and more than a dozen buildings collapsed after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Turkey’s Balikesir province.
At least 29 people suffered injuries after the tremor shook the ground at around 7.53pm local time on Sunday, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
The earthquake, with its epicentre in the town of Sindirgi, sent shocks that were felt across provinces, including the country’s biggest city, Istanbul.
Sindirgi is a mountainous town with a population of about 30,000 people.
Turkish disaster and emergency management agency AFAD said the quake struck at a depth of 11km while the German Research Centre for Geosciences registered its depth at 10km and magnitude at 6.19.
An elderly woman died shortly after being pulled out alive from the debris of a collapsed building in Sindirgi, Mr Yerlikaya said.
Four other people were rescued from the building. Mr Yerlikaya said a total of 16 buildings collapsed in the region, most of them derelict and unused. Two mosque minarets also tumbled down.
Footage showed rescue teams asking for silence so they could listen for signs of life under the rubble as they raced to save people.
The AFAD said the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6, and it urged citizens not to enter damaged buildings.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished all affected citizens a speedy recovery. “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster,” he said on X.
“From the very first moment, all relevant institutions have been mobilised and are taking the necessary steps. We are closely monitoring the efforts.”
Turkey sits atop major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.
In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed over 53,000 people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in neighbouring Syria.
In June, a 14-year-old child died in the resort town of Fethiye after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the popular holiday destination of Rhodes.
In April, at least 236 people were injured after jumping from buildings in panic following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul. Many residents were forced to spend the night outdoors after powerful aftershocks.
