At least six people were killed when a major earthquake in the Aegean Sea rattled parts of Greece and western Turkey on Friday, leveling structures in the western Turkish province of Izmir and severely damaging several residential buildings, Turkey’s emergency management agency said.
The agency said at least 202 people were confirmed injured and rescue efforts were underway in a dozen buildings in Izmir. The full extent of the injuries and deaths is unclear.
Murat Kurum, the environment minister, said in televised remarks that there were reports of people trapped under debris, many of them in the Bayrakli neighborhood of Izmir, a province with a population of more than four million. Images posted to social media and videos aired on state television showed people being rescued from the rubble.
The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.0 according to the United States Geological Survey, was centered off Samos, a Greek island near Turkey’s coast, according to Turkey’s disaster management agency.
Source : New York Times
