Earthquake in Turkey: 19 dead, hundreds injured amid collapsed buildings and tsunami

A strong earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos on Friday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, authorities said.

A small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir, the city in western Turkey that was hit hardest by the earthquake, said Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute.

At least 17 people were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, including one that drowned, and 709 were injured, according to Turkey’s Presidency of Emergency and Disaster Management, or AFAD.

Among those killed were the wife and two children of the general secretary of the Izmir branch of the Turkish Medical Association, the group said.

In Samos, two teenagers died after being hit by a collapsed wall. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted his condolences, saying that “words are too poor to describe how one feels before the loss of children.”

At least 19 people were injured on the island, two, including a 14-year-old boy, were flown to Athens and seven were hospitalized on the island, health authorities said.

The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, with seawater flooding the streets of the main port city of Vathi. Authorities warned people to stay away from the shoreline and potentially damaged buildings.

Izmir Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger said at least 70 people were rescued from destroyed buildings, four destroyed and more than 10 collapsed. Others suffered less serious damage, he said, but did not give an exact number.

Search and rescue efforts were underway in at least 17 buildings, AFAD said. Turkish media showed rescuers pulling people out of the rubble, including a survivor who was found about six hours after the earthquake. Emergency crews continued digging after dark and cranes lifted concrete slabs from the rubble.

The earthquake, which according to the Kandilli Institute had a magnitude of 6.9, occurred at 2:51 pm local time in Turkey and was centered in northeast Samos, in the Aegean. AFAD said it measured the magnitude at 6.6.

It was felt in all the eastern Greek islands and even the Greek capital, Athens, and in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it shook the Aegean and Marmara regions, including Istanbul. The governor of Istanbul said there were no reports of damage in the city, Turkey’s largest.

A video on Twitter showed flooding in the Seferihisar district, and Turkish officials and announcers asked people to stay off the streets after reports of traffic congestion.

Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer urged residents not to enter damaged buildings and to take into account social distancing and masking mandates amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clouds of dust or smoke rose from various points as buildings collapsed in the earthquake.

Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis told Greek state broadcaster ERT that due to the shallow depth of its epicenter, about 10 kilometers, potentially powerful aftershocks could be expected for several weeks and warned that the buildings could collapse into a strong aftershock.

The government and cities like Istanbul sent more than 3,000 rescue personnel to Izmir, as well as relief supplies. The Turkish Red Crescent installed kitchens.

France offered assistance to both countries. The Secretary of State for European Affairs tweeted “France’s full solidarity with Greece and Turkey” and said “we are ready to offer the necessary help.”

The Greek minister responsible for civil protection and crisis management, Nikos Hardalias, headed to Samos together with a search and rescue team, paramedics and engineers. Some islanders planned to spend the night in emergency tents for fear of aftershocks.

In a show of solidarity rare in recent months of tense bilateral relations, Greek and Turkish government officials issued messages of solidarity to each other.

“We pray that there is no more loss of life in Turkey or Greece and we send our best wishes to all those affected on both sides of the earthquake,” Turkey’s communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted.

“This tragedy reminds us once again how close we are despite our policy differences. We are ready to help if Greece needs it.”

Mitsotakis, the Greek Prime Minister, tweeted that he had telephoned Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to offer my condolences on the tragic loss of life caused by the earthquake that struck our two countries. Regardless of our differences, these two these are times when our people must come together. “

Erdogan responded to the tweet with his thanks and offered his condolences. “Turkey is also always ready to help Greece heal its wounds. That two neighbors show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life,” he wrote.

Relations between Turkey and Greece have been particularly tense, with both warships clashing in the eastern Mediterranean in a dispute over maritime borders and energy exploration rights. The current tension has sparked fears of an open conflict between the two neighbors and NATO allies.

– AP