Thursday. 28.03.2024

The death toll in Friday's earthquake in the city of Izmir in western Turkey has risen to 25, the official news agency Anadolu reported Saturday, citing to the country's disaster authority AFAD.

A total of 804 people were injured. Rescue efforts continue at nine damaged buildings, Anadolu said, adding that three more people were dragged from the rubble alive 17 hours after the quake struck.

According to AFAD, there was an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.0 on Saturday morning in Seferihisar district in Izmir.

Authorities are using "every means available" to help those affected, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in Istanbul.

The quake struck at 15:01 pm (local time) at a depth of 16.5 kilometres in Izmir's Seferihisar district, according to AFAD. It said 196 aftershocks followed the major quake.

Two teenagers were found dead on the Greek island of Samos and eight people were taken to hospital with injuries, according to Greek media.

The quake was felt on the Greek islands in the Aegean as well as in nearby Turkish cities, including Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, some 540 kilometres to the north, the broadcaster TRT said.

With a population over 4.3 million, Izmir is Turkey's third largest city after Istanbul and Ankara.

Buildings collapsed

At least four buildings completely collapsed, and a small-scale tsunami was triggered, said Izmir Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger.

Rescuers have managed to pull 70 survivors out so far, Kosger added.

In dramatic scenes shown by TRT, rescuers contacted at least four people trapped under the rubble at a collapsed seven-storey building in Bayrakli district.

Turkish media also reported at least two hospitals damaged in Izmir with patients evacuated for safety.

Local restaurants and hotels in Izmir offered free food and accommodation for those affected on social media while the municipality separately set up tents in three public parks.

Turkey sits on major seismic fault lines. Two deadly quakes in the eastern cities of Elazig and Malatya in January killed over 40 people.

The leaders of Greece, Azerbaijan and Qatar offered help in phone calls with Erdogan, the president said on Friday.

European Council President Charles Michel and NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg also offered support on Twitter.

Death toll in western Turkey earthquake rises to 25