Istanbul — About a dozen buildings collapsed in Turkey’s northwest province of Balikesir on Sunday due to an earthquake of magnitude 6.1, according to an official. A structure collapsed, trapping at least two persons in its wreckage.
With the hamlet of Sindirgi as its epicenter, the earthquake caused tremors that were felt in Istanbul, a city of over 16 million people, almost 200 kilometers (125 miles) distant.
Serkan Sak, the mayor of Sindirgi, told HaberTurk that four people had been rescued from a building that had collapsed in the town while rescuers attempted to reach two more individuals within the building.
According to him, a number of homes in the neighboring village of Golcuk also fell. In the community, a mosque’s minaret also collapsed.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency warned residents not to enter damaged structures and said that multiple aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 4.6, followed the earthquake.
Due to its location on major fault lines, earthquakes frequently occur in Turkey.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2023 destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 regions in the south and southeast of Turkey, killing around 53,000 people. In Syria’s northern regions, another 6,000 people lost their lives.
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