A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck western Turkey on Sunday, causing damage in the country’s northwestern Balıkesir province. The tremors were felt as far as 200 kilometres south in Istanbul, according to officials. Videos from the affected area showed buildings collapsing during the quake. At least 29 people were injured.Officials reported that the earthquake destroyed approximately a dozen structures. The quake’s epicentre was in the town of Sindirgi, where Mayor Serkan Sak told HaberTurk TV that four people were rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building, while efforts were underway to reach two others. He added that several homes in the nearby village of Golcuk had fallen and a mosque’s minaret had toppled. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu tweeted that four individuals were in hospital, none in critical condition.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters that a total of 16 buildings collapsed in the region – most of them derelict and unused. Two mosque minarets also tumbled down, he said.None of the injured were in serious condition, the minister said. Balıkesir city mayor Ahmet Akin expressed optimism, saying, “Our hope is to get through this without any loss of life,” during an interview with HaberTurk. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency reported that the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, the largest measuring magnitude 4.6, and urged residents to avoid damaged buildings. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan posted on X, extending wishes for a speedy recovery to those affected and wrote: “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster.” Turkey sits on major fault lines and experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 quake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and 6,000 in northern Syria.
