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A strong earthquake overnight in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killed at least 19 people and injured more than 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, authorities said.
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The magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and Samos, a Greek island. Source: Associated Press
A small tsunami struck Izmir’s Seferisar district, said Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told 1 NEWS that “there was no indication at this time” that any New Zealanders in Turkey or Greece were affected by the earthquake.
There are 73 New Zealanders registered in Turkey and 13 in Greece, the spokesperson said.
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: “Words are too poor to describe how one feels before the loss of their 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 (12:51 am New Zealand time) in Turkey and was centered on northeast Samos, in the Aegean. .
AFAD said it measured the magnitude at 6.6.
Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis told Greek state broadcaster ERT that due to the shallow depth of its epicenter, approximately 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 the “total solidarity of France with Greece and Turkey” and said that “we are ready to offer the necessary help.”
Rescue workers and locals try to save residents trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Izmir, Turkey. Source: Associated Press
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 political differences. We are ready to help if Greece needs it.”
Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, tweeted that he had telephoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life caused by the earthquake that struck our two countries. Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to be united. “
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.
