6.1 earthquake hits Turkey’s Balikesir province, killing 1 and collapsing buildings

ISTANBUL (AP) — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday, killing at least one person and causing more than a dozen buildings to collapse, officials said. At least 29 people were injured.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the town of Sindirgi, sent shocks that were felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north in Istanbul – a city of more than 16 million people.

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.

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.

None of the injured were in serious condition, the minister said.

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

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.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement wishing all affected citizens a speedy recovery.

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

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 southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.