More than 150 people have been injured after a powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Istanbul, one of the strongest to strike the city in recent years, Turkish officials have said.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage in the city, where 16 million people live.
Residents were seen running out of buildings as the quake shook the area, and 151 people were admitted to hospital after suffering injuries while “jumping from heights”, the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement, blaming “panic”.
People outside with their pets. Pic: AP
No one is in a life-threatening condition, the office said.
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.
Wednesday is a public holiday in Turkey, meaning many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets, when the quake hit, causing widespread panic.
People 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.
Many people gathered in parks as aftershocks continued to be felt. Pic: AP
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.”
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.
Read more from Sky News:
Apple and Meta fined hundreds of millions by EU
New photo of Prince Louis released
What are the chances of a British pope?
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.
