ATHENS: A powerful earthquake has struck off Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, destroying homes and killing at least 22 people, authories said.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the 7.0 magnitude tremor was centred off Turkey’s Izmir province.
Turkey put the magnitude lower, at 6.6, saying 20 people had died and 786 were injured in the province of Izmir. On Samos, two teenagers were killed.
The shallow tremor triggered a mini-tsunami that flooded Izmir and Samos.
The authorities in Izmir, the provincial capital, are now setting up a tent area to house about 2,000 people overnight, amid fears that more buildings could collapse.
The authorities said that 70 people had been rescued from under the rubble.
Rescuers continued to dig through concrete blocks after darkness fell, hoping to find more survivors.
The USGS said the quake – which was felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul – struck at a depth of 10km (six miles), although Turkish officials said it was 16km below ground.
Turkey and Greece both sit on fault lines and earthquakes are common.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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