Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 120 were people injured the coastal province of Izmir, Al-Jazeera reported.
People flooded into the streets in the Turkish city of Izmir after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit, witnesses said. The wreckage of multiple-story buildings in the city’s center could be seen with people climbing it to escape. Smoke rose into the sky in several spots in the city.
“So far, we have received information about six collapsed buildings” in Izmir province, which includes the city, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.
Environment Minister Murat Kurum said he knew of five collapsed buildings. “Some of our fellow citizens are stuck in the rubble,” he said.
The quake triggered a small-scale tsunami in Seferihisar, Huseyin Alan, head of Turkey’s Chamber of Geological Engineers, told state news agency TRT, warning people to stay away from buildings.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.6, while the US Geological Survey said it was 7.0. It struck at around 11:50 GMT and was felt along Turkey’s Aegean coast and the northwestern Marmara region, local media said.
MA/PR