Turkey Balikesir earthquake struck on Sunday with a magnitude of 6.1, killing one person and injuring 29 others. The quake’s epicentre was in the town of Sindirgi. Tremors reached Istanbul, nearly 200 kilometres away, shaking a city of over 16 million people.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said an elderly woman died shortly after rescuers pulled her from a collapsed building in Sindirgi. Teams also saved four other people from the same structure. Authorities reported that 16 buildings collapsed, most of them derelict. Two mosque minarets also fell. Yerlikaya confirmed that none of the injured were in critical condition.
Rescue teams paused their work at times, calling for silence so they could listen for signs of life under the debris. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency reported several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6. Officials warned residents to stay away from damaged buildings.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posted on X, wishing the injured a swift recovery. He also expressed hope that Turkey would avoid future disasters.
Turkey sits on several major fault lines, making earthquakes common. The country still bears scars from the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023. That disaster killed more than 53,000 people in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. In neighbouring Syria, it claimed an additional 6,000 lives.
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