151 injured due to panic, jumping incidents in Istanbul's earthquake: Governor's office

Istanbul, April 23 (IANS) The Istanbul Governor's Office reported that 151 people were injured due to panic and incidents of jumping from heights during the 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday.

The injured individuals are currently receiving treatment in hospitals, and their conditions are not life-threatening, the office said, adding that no deaths were reported as of 3:30 p.m. local time, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Governor's office confirmed that no residential buildings across the city collapsed, except for one abandoned building in the Fatih district.

There have been no disruptions to energy supply, natural gas distribution, or drinking water and sewage infrastructure that would impact daily life, and field assessments are ongoing, according to the office.

Many residents flocked to parks, school yards and other open areas to avoid being near buildings in case of collapse or subsequent earthquakes. Some people pitched tents in parks.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at an event marking the National Sovereignty and Children's Day holiday, said: "Thank God, there does not seem to be any problems for now.

"May God protect our country and our people from all kinds of calamities, disasters, accidents and troubles."

The Turkish President received information about the earthquakes from the Interior Minister, Environment Minister, and Health Minister, as well as the head of AFAD and the Governor of Istanbul, according to the Communications Directorate.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of nearly 7 km (4.3 miles), and it lasted 13 seconds, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said initial inspections showed no damage to highways, airports, trains or subways.

Earlier in the day, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency announced that the earthquake epicentre was located in the Silivri district on the European side of Istanbul in the Marmara Sea, at a depth of 6.92 km.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, as it is crossed by two major fault lines.

In February 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, and a second powerful tremor, left more than 53,000 dead and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings across southern and southeastern Turkey.

A further 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighbouring Syria.

While Istanbul largely avoided the devastation wrought by that quake, it heightened fears of a similar, equally destructive episode in the future.

--IANS

int/khz