A 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook Turkey’s Balikesir province in the northwest on Sunday, resulting in the collapse of about a dozen buildings, officials reported. At least two individuals were trapped under the rubble of one collapsed structure.
The quake’s epicenter was near the town of Sindirgi, and the tremors were felt as far as Istanbul, roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north, where more than 16 million people live.
Sindirgi’s mayor, Serkan Sak, told HaberTurk television that rescuers had pulled four people from a collapsed building and were still trying to reach two others trapped inside. Several homes also fell in the nearby village of Golcuk, where the minaret of a mosque was toppled.
Turkey’s Health Minister, Kemal Memisoglu, shared on social media that four people were hospitalized but none were in critical condition.
Ahmet Akin, the mayor of Balikesir city, expressed hope to get through the disaster without loss of life during an interview with HaberTurk.
Following the initial quake, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency reported multiple aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6, and warned residents not to enter buildings that may be unstable.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message via social media, wishing those affected a swift recovery and asking for protection from future disasters.
Turkey lies along major fault lines, making it prone to frequent earthquakes. In 2023, a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake killed more than 53,000 people across 11 provinces in southern and southeastern Turkey, while also claiming around 6,000 lives in northern Syria. Hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged in that event.
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