A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern Balikesir province on Sunday, leaving at least one person dead and 29 others injured, according to government officials.
The tremor, which originated in the town of Sindirgi, caused more than a dozen buildings to collapse and was felt as far as 200 kilometers (125 miles) away in Istanbul, a city of over 16 million people.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that an elderly woman rescued from the rubble in Sindirgi later died. He added that four other individuals were also pulled from the debris alive.
“Sixteen buildings collapsed, most of them old and abandoned,” Yerlikaya said, noting that two mosque minarets were also brought down by the quake. He added that none of the injured were in critical condition.
Television footage showed emergency crews urging silence at the scene as they listened for any signs of life beneath the rubble.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) reported multiple aftershocks following the main quake, including one measuring 4.6. Authorities have since advised residents to avoid re-entering damaged or unstable structures.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered condolences to the victims, writing on X (formerly Twitter), “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster.”
Turkey, located on major seismic fault lines, is prone to frequent earthquakes. In 2023, a 7.8 magnitude quake devastated the country’s south, killing more than 53,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings. The same disaster claimed 6,000 lives in neighboring northern Syria.
