Istanbul has been hit by a powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest to strike the city in recent years, Turkish officials have said.
People were seen running out of buildings as the quake shook the city. There is no immediate confirmation of any serious damage or injuries.
The earthquake, which struck at 12.49pm local time (9.49am UK time), had a shallow depth of 10km (about six miles), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The epicentre was some 40km (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara.
It was preceded by a 3.9 magnitude earthquake at 12.13pm, according to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency (AFAD), and followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3.
Residents were urged to stay away from buildings and reports said the earthquake was felt in several neighbouring provinces – and in the city of Izmir, some 550km (340 miles) south of Istanbul.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said there were “no serious cases” after the earthquake in a statement on social media.
Kemal Cebi, the mayor of Kucukcekmece district in western Istanbul, told local broadcaster NTV that there were “no negative developments yet”, but he said that there were traffic jams and that many buildings were already at risk due to the density of the area.
Broadcaster TGRT reported that one person had been injured after they jumped off a balcony during the earthquake – which occurred during a public holiday in Turkey.
Transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said initial inspections showed no damage to highways, airports, trains or subways.
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.
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Residents of Istanbul out on the streets of Turkey’s largest city after the tremors. Pic: AP
While Istanbul largely avoided the devastation wrought by that quake, it heightened fears of a similar, equally destructive episode in the future.
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