EnglishTurkey’s Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute said a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the Marmara region, including İstanbul, the largest city of the country.
In a separate account, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Greece on Saturday, some 77 km (48 miles) south-southwest of Alexandroupolis, the US Geological Survey said.
The USGS said the quake’s depth was 10 km (six miles). There were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage. It downwardly revised its first reading of 7.2.
Residents in İstanbul in neighbouring Turkey felt a small tremor that lasted around 20 seconds.
In parts of western Turkey on Saturday morning, panicked residents rushed into the streets as a tremor shook buildings, local media reported.
A shop is seen in the western province of Sakarya after the quake.
The quake also rattled Turkey’s most populous city, İstanbul, as well as the Aegean coastal city of İzmir, but there were no immediate reports of damage here as well. The quake was widely felt across the western parts of Turkey, including the Marmara region.
İstanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said there were no casualties so far in İstanbul.
30 people taken to hospital in the western province of Çanakkale.
A house was damaged by the quake in the western province of Çanakkale.
Earthquakes are a frequent occurrence in Turkey, which is crisscrossed by geological fault lines. In October 2011, more than 600 people died in the eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude and powerful aftershocks.
In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in Turkey’s densely populated northwest.
Panicky residents rushed to streets in the western province of Edirne.
Saturday’s tremor caused panic in the southern Bulgarian city of Haskovo, national radio reported, but the country’s Civil Protection agency said there was no reports of casualties.
