Istanbul earthquake: 5.7 magnitude tremor rocks Turkish metropolis
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook buildings and damaged two mosques in Istanbul, slightly injuring eight people and causing residents to rush out of buildings into the street, Strategy2050.kz refers to Euronews.com.
Witnesses said they felt buildings sway and said some offices and schools were temporarily evacuated. Three major seismic fault lines criss-cross Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with 15 million inhabitants, which straddles Europe and Asia.
The earthquake was at a depth of 12.6 km, the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute said, locating its epicentre 70 km west of Istanbul in the Marmara Sea, south of the town of Silivri. It struck at 1.59 pm.
Both the observatory and the US Geological Survey assessed its magnitude at 5.7.
“Despite this earthquake having a magnitude that could be considered serious, we have not as yet received heartbreaking news, just some small damage”, President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference.
He said eight people had been treated for minor injuries, but did not provide further details.
