Skip to main content

Earthquake damages buildings in eastern Turkey, rattles Syria

1 min

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck eastern Turkey's Malatya province on Wednesday, causing damage to some buildings but no casualties, the country's disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD) said.

Three people narrowly avoided debris falling from a rooftop during an earthquake in southeast Turkey on Wednesday (October 16), CCTV footage from the scene showed

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck eastern Turkey's Malatya province on Wednesday, causing damage to some buildings but no casualties, the country's disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD) said.

Three buildings were partially collapsed but there were no casualties, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters.

The quake was also felt in Syria's Hasakah, Deir al-Zor and Aleppo provinces, the country's state news agency said.

AFAD said it occurred at 10:46 a.m. (0746 GMT) with its epicentre in the district of Kale, some 40 km (25 miles) east of the city of Malatya.

AFAD, police and gendarmerie security teams carried out inspections across the region including in Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Elazig, Batman and Tunceli provinces, it added.

Nearly 190 people were treated in hospitals in six provinces due to the quake, of which 43 remain under observation, Yerlikaya said.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the quake had a 6.1 magnitude and was at a depth of 9 km (5.6 miles) below the earth.

Reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul, Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru, Clauda Tanios in Dubai, Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara

Related

Syria

Syrian army quits Homs, cutting Assad off from coast

Syrian government forces abandoned the key city of Homs on Saturday after less than a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread with insurgents also advancing towards the capital Damascus.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.