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Material destruction appears to be greatest in Turkey’s third largest city, Izmir, where several apartment blocks collapsed.
Rescue teams searched for survivors Friday night in the ruins of at least 17 buildings in Izmir. 70 people have been rescued alive from 14 collapsed buildingssaid Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger.
Strong earthquake
Friday’s earthquake was measured at 6.6 by the Greek Seismological Institute and 7 by the USGS American Institute of Earthquakes. The earthquake had its center 16.5 kilometers below the Aegean Sea, north of the Greek island of Samos, which is off the coast of Turkey.
The center of the earthquake in Turkey measured the magnitude at 6.9 and a minor tsunami caused high water levels and flooding in several places along the coast of Turkey.
According to the Turkish crisis authority AFAD, 24 have been found dead in Izmir so far and 800 people have been injured. One of the dead drowned.
Background: Greece and Turkey hit by earthquakes
Trapped in the ruins
Eyewitnesses also said smoke rose in various places in Izmir, which has just over 4 million residents.
Minor damage to buildings was also reported in six other Turkish provinces.
Also in Samos, buildings collapsed and two teenagers were killed when they were hit by a wall. In addition, at least 19 people were injured.
– Words are too poor to describe how one feels about losing children, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted in a message of condolence.
Solidarity
Relations between Turkey and Greece are currently bad, but the earthquake could lead to a diplomatic thaw. The foreign ministers of the two countries spoke by phone on Friday, and a few hours later, Mitsotakis called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and offered Greek assistance in the rescue operation in Izmir.
– Thank you, Prime Minister. That two neighbors show solidarity in a difficult moment has more value than many things in life, Erdogan wrote on Twitter afterwards.
EU President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also offered help.
– The EU is ready to contribute support, tweeted Michel.
The United States is also ready to help, says the country’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien. He commends the two neighboring countries for putting aside their differences and helping each other.
Water in the streets
Samos residents were asked to stay away from large buildings due to the risk of several aftershocks.
The island was also hit by the tsunami. Samos’ largest port city, Vathi, was flooded and water flooded the streets.
The quake also struck Crete, the Greek capital Athens and Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, but no damage was reported. The earthquake was also registered in Bulgaria.
