BALIKESIR, Turkey — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern Balıkesir province on Sunday, damaging or destroying about a dozen buildings and injuring at least 29 people. Tremors were felt up to 200 km away in Istanbul.
The epicentre was in Sindirgi, where rescuers freed four people from rubble and searched for two more. The quake was followed by aftershocks, the strongest at magnitude 4.6. Authorities urged residents to avoid damaged structures.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wished the injured a swift recovery, noting Turkey’s vulnerability to quakes along its major fault lines. The country’s deadliest recent quake, in 2023, killed over 53,000 people.
