7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Turkey and Greece, 26 dead
- 24 people died in Turkey's province of Izmir while 800 have been injured
- 20 buildings collapsed in Izmir, mayor Tunc Soyer said
- 2 teenagers died in Greece's Samos
At least 26 people died after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit 14 kilometres (nine miles) off the Greek town of Karlovasi on Samos and Turkey’s Aegean coast, destroying several homes and levelling many buildings across the two nations.
After the quake, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called his rival Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences and support. Both the nations sit on fault lines and are situated in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.
24 people died in Turkey’s province of Izmir while 800 were injured, according to the country’s disaster relief agency. Turkey recorded a lower magnitude quake of 6.6. Two teenagers were killed on Greece’s Samos.
The late afternoon quake, which was felt in both Istanbul and Athens, brought a mini-tsunami that flooded Izmir and Samos. Most damages occurred in and around Izmir that has three million residents.
Tunc Soyer, mayor of Izmir, told CNN Turk that 20 buildings had collapsed, with officials focusing their rescue efforts on 17 of them.
Izmir authorities said that 70 people have been rescued from the rubble while it has set up a tent area to provide shelter to around 2,000 people amid fears of more buildings will collapse, BBC reported. Turkey’s religious affairs directorate opened its mosques to shelter those left homeless by the disaster, reported AFP.
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