The earthquake took place in the province of Malatya, devastated by a violent earthquake in 2023 (archives).
Photo: KEYSTONE/AP/EMRAH GUREL
Several provinces in eastern Turkey were shaken by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, authorities announced. They did not immediately report any casualties.
The earthquake occurred at 10:46 a.m. (09:46 a.m. in Switzerland) in the Kale district, in the province of Malatya, one of the provinces affected by the violent 7.8 magnitude earthquake of February 6, 2023, which caused more than 53,500 dead in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria.
‘Three buildings partially collapsed’ in the provinces of Malatya, Sanliurfa and Elazig, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, affirming that no deaths were to be deplored.
One hundred and eighty-seven people ‘affected by the earthquake’ were, however, taken care of by doctors, and 43 remained ‘under surveillance’ on Wednesday afternoon, the minister said during a press conference.
The governors of Elazig and Malatya reported panic-stricken residents who were injured by falling down stairs or throwing themselves out of windows for fear of seeing their buildings collapse.
Four people were also extracted alive from a building in Elazig province, the public disaster management agency (Afad) reported.
The tremor was felt very strongly in several large cities in the region, including Diyarbakir, some 140 km from the epicenter, according to AFP correspondents on site.
Residents of these towns immediately gathered outside, according to images broadcast by Turkish television channels.
Schools were closed as a precaution on Wednesday in five provinces in the region, authorities announced.
/ATS
