Earthquake Causes Panic in Istanbul, Turkey

An earthquake measuring 5.8 in magnitude on Thursday struck Istanbul, the largest city and main economic centre of Turkey and the region. The epicentre was around 70 kilometres west of the city in the Marmara Sea.

After the quake struck, many people panicked and fled from their homes and sought safety in parks and the streets.

"We immediately left our buildings. After we secured the students, we evacuated the school, everyone was in a panic," Dilek Gursoy, a teacher in Istanbul, told BIRN.

Several aftershocks also hit the city, measuring 4.1 and 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told the media that several buildings were damaged and the minarets of two mosques in the Avcilar and Sariyer districts had collapsed.

According to the Governor of Istanbul, no major damage or injuries occurred but schools have been suspended and people have been advised not to enter damaged buildings.

It comes a week after Albania was struck by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that left numerous buildings cracked and streets littered with debris.

Istanbul is located in a major seismic zone. The last serious quake in 1999 caused more than 50,000 deaths.

"A major earthquake has been expected for a long time. We were warning officials there would be a big one; the fault lines are on the move. Istanbul and Marmara region should be ready," Professor Okan Tuysuz told HaberTurk TV Channel.

Istanbul is home to 16 million people and is the main economic and tourism centre of the country.

A crack in a building wall in Istanbul. Photo: Internet Haber

A crack in a building wall in Istanbul. Photo: Internet Haber

A man inspects a crack in a building wall in Istanbul. Photo: Internet Haber

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