At least one woman killed as 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Turkey

BALIKESIR, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: People conduct search and rescue operation after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck with its epicenter in the Sindirgi district of Balikesir, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Murat Seyman/Anadolu via Getty Images)
People look for survivors in the ruins of a collapsed building (Pictures: Anadolu)

People had to be pulled from the rubble of destroyed buildings as a huge earthquake struck Turkey.

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 29.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the town of Sindirgi, sent shocks that were felt some 125 miles to the north of the capital Istanbul – a city of more than 16 million people.

BALIKESIR, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: Search and rescue efforts continue amid the rubble of a collapsed building following a 6.1-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Sindirgi district of Balikesir, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Fatih Capkin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Search and rescue efforts continue amid the rubble of a collapsed building (Pictures: Fatih Capkin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

An elderly woman died shortly after being pulled out alive from the debris of a collapsed building in Sindirgi, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters.

Four other people were rescued from the building.

BALIKESIR, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: Search and rescue efforts continue following a 6.1-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Sindirgi district of Balikesir, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Debris falls on a car as search and rescue efforts continue (Pictures by Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Television footage showed rescue teams asking for silence so they can listen for signs of life beneath the rubble.

ISTANBUL, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: An infographic titled "6.1 magnitude earthquake hits western Turkiye" created in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Muhammed Ali Yigit/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Yerlikaya said a total of 16 buildings collapsed in the region – most of them derelict and unused. Two mosque minarets also tumbled down, he said.

Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency said the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6, and urged citizens not to enter damaged buildings.

BALIKESIR, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: An aerial view of a collapsed building as search and rescue efforts continue following a 6.1-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Sindirgi district of Balikesir, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Berkan Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An aerial view of a collapsed building as search and rescue efforts (Pictures: Berkan Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement wishing all the victims a speedy recovery.

‘May God protect our country from any kind of disaster,’ he wrote on X.

BALIKESIR, TURKIYE - AUGUST 10: An aerial view of a collapsed building as search and rescue efforts continue following a 6.1-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Sindirgi district of Balikesir, Turkiye on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An aerial view of a collapsed building as search and rescue efforts continue (Pictures: Anadolu)

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and south-eastern provinces.

Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighbouring Syria.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *