Istanbul: At least six people were killed and 202 injured in a powerful earthquake (Earthquake) in the Aegean Sea on Friday between the coast of Turkey and the Greek island of Samos in Greece. Haluk Ozner, director of the Kandili Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute in Istanbul, said a small tsunami had also hit Seferisar in Izmir district.
At least four people have suffered minor injuries in Greece’s Samos Peninsula, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said, adding that six people were killed and 202 injured in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city. Izmir Governor Yavuz Salim Kosgar said at least 70 people had been evacuated from the wreckage. He said that four buildings have been demolished. In addition many buildings have been damaged.
Turkish Health Minister Fakhruddin Khwaja tweeted that 38 ambulances, two ambulance helicopters and 35 medical rescue teams were working in Izmir. The Department of Disaster and Emergency Management said that shell and rescue work is underway in at least 12 buildings. The epicenter was reported at 16.5 kilometers below the Aegean Sea, the department said. Its intensity is measured at 6.6.
In Greece, media reported that residents of Samos and other peninsulas fled their homes during the quake. There are also reports of rock falls. Four people have been reported with minor injuries in the quake.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake initially had a magnitude of 6.9 and was centered on the island of Samos in northeastern Greece. Turkish media have shown the wreckage of a multi-storey building in central Izmir. Apart from this, rescue workers are also seen deployed. Pictures of smoke rising in many places in central Izmir have also come to light. The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 7.0.
