Turkey’s disaster relief agency reported 24 deaths and nearly 800 injuries, while in Greece two teenagers died in the island of Samos.
Iran (IMNA) - Rescuers continue to dig through heavy blocks of concrete with their bare hands early on Saturday, in a desperate search for survivors from a powerful earthquake that levelled buildings across Greece and Turkey, killing at least 26 people.
Much of the damage in Turkey occurred in and around the Aegean resort city of Izmir, which has three million residents and is filled with high-rise apartment blocks. It was unclear how many people were trapped in the rubble.
The quake also caused a mini-tsunami on the Aegean island of Samos and a sea surge that turned streets into rushing rivers in one town on Turkey’s west coast.
Turkish officials confirmed 24 dead and nearly 800 injured after the quake hit the coastal province of Izmir.
In Greece, two teenagers – a boy and a girl – were killed on the island of Samos when a building collapsed on top of them.
People flooded onto the streets in the Turkish city of Izmir after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit, witnesses said. The wreckage of multiple-story buildings in the city’s centre could be seen with people climbing out to escape. Smoke rose into the sky in several areas.
The earthquake triggered a small-scale tsunami in Seferihisar district, Huseyin Alan, head of Turkey’s Chamber of Geological Engineers, told state news agency TRT, warning people to stay away from buildings.
Footage on social media showed debris including refrigerators, chairs, and tables floating through streets on the deluge. TRT Haber showed cars being dragged by the water and piled on top of each other.
AFAD said it was a magnitude 6.6 earthquake, while the US Geological Survey said it was 7.0. It struck at about 11:50 GMT and was felt along Turkey’s Aegean coast and the northwestern Marmara region.
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