ISTANBUL: A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye’s northwestern Balikesir province on Sunday, killing at least one person and toppling more than a dozen buildings, officials confirmed. At least 29 others were injured.
The quake’s epicenter was located in the town of Sindirgi, with tremors felt as far as 200 kilometers (125 miles) away in Istanbul — a city of over 16 million residents.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said an elderly woman died shortly after being rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Sindirgi. Four other people were pulled out alive from the same structure. He added that 16 buildings — mostly abandoned or derelict — had collapsed, along with two mosque minarets. None of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.
Television broadcasts showed rescue teams calling for silence as they listened for signs of life under the debris. Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency reported several aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.6, and urged residents to stay out of damaged buildings.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a message wishing a speedy recovery to those affected, writing on X: “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster.”
Situated on major fault lines, Türkiye is highly prone to earthquakes. In 2023, a devastating 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 53,000 people in Türkiye, destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces, and claimed another 6,000 lives in northern Syria.