An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred in Istanbul. What is known

On Wednesday, April 23, a series of earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 6.2 occurred in Turkey. Aftershocks were felt in several districts of Istanbul, at least 151 people were injured. Read more about the incident in the Izvestia article.

Earthquake in Turkey — what happened

The first 3.9 magnitude tremors were recorded at 12:13 p.m. (local time, coincides with Moscow time) off the coast of Istanbul's Silivri district in the Sea of Marmara at a depth of about 6.99 km. The next earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred in Istanbul, its source was at a depth of about 10 km.

According to Al-Jazeera TV channel, with reference to the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD, on April 23, seven earthquakes occurred in the Sea of Marmara: two near Silivri (magnitude 6.2 and 3.9) and five more in Istanbul's Buyukcekmece district (magnitude 5.9, 4.4, 4.8, 4.5 and 4.9). About 30 aftershocks were also recorded.

After the earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement, noting that there were no problematic situations in Istanbul.

"We are following the process very closely. There are no problems at the moment," the Turkish leader said.

He added that emergency services had been put on high alert.

In turn, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Numan Kurtulmus urged citizens to prepare for a new earthquake that could occur at any moment.

"The expected earthquake in Istanbul is already on the threshold. Our country, all our institutions and organizations must be ready, and we need to overcome the possible earthquake in Istanbul with the least casualties," Anadolu agency quoted him as saying.

Earthquake in Istanbul — victims and destruction

According to the governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikai, 151 people were injured as a result of the earthquake, but there were no fatalities.

The Russian Consulate General in Istanbul stated that they had not received any information about the injured Russians. The diplomatic mission also urged to avoid panic and comply with security requirements.

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There was no information about significant damage in Istanbul. At the moment, emergency services are conducting checks in the affected areas.

Haberturk TV channel reported the collapse of an abandoned building in the Fatih district. As a result of the incident, no one was injured, and no damage to the infrastructure was recorded.

Earthquake in Istanbul — eyewitness reaction

Russian tourist Olga Delitsina told Izvestia about the beginning of the earthquake in Istanbul. According to the girl, when the first tremors occurred, she was in the store and was choosing a bag.

"I didn't feel it (the first shock — Ed.), absolutely, that is, it seemed as if it was a strong gust of wind. But the girl who worked in this store started speaking Turkish very loudly and in some kind of panic and literally pushed me out of the store," the interlocutor shared.

The tourist added that when she went outside, she saw a large number of people running out of their houses in horror. Delitsina explained that she was in the old part of the city, where there was a high probability of collapse.

"There was a very ancient house in front of us. <...> And the girl who worked in the store said that we were under great threat because this house could collapse at any moment," she said.