Strong earthquake rocks western Turkey near Duzce
- Published
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake has struck an area of western Turkey near the town of Duzce, about 210km (130 miles) east of Turkey's largest city Istanbul.
The tremors were strong enough to be felt in Istanbul and the capital Ankara. At least 50 people were injured, officials said.
Estimates of the quake's depth vary from 2km to 10km.
Power was disrupted in the region, and one resident was injured after jumping from their balcony.
Another 4.7 quake was reported some 20 minutes after the first.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told broadcaster TRT Haber there was no severe damage caused by the quake, "only some barns were wrecked in these places".
Authorities are working to restore power to the area.
Turkey's disaster agency said 37 had been injured in Duzce, one in Istanbul, six in Zonguldak and one in Sakarya on the Black Sea coast, and one in Bolu, to the southeast.
Photos from Duzce at night show many people huddled outdoors, wrapped in blankets and using makeshift fires to keep warm.
Security camera footage of the earthquake has been posted on social media.
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The Duzce court house was among the eight buildings damaged in the area.
Duzce resident, Fatma Colak told AFP she woke to a "big noise and tremor".
"We got out of our homes in panic and now we are waiting outside," she said.
Duzce was hit by a major 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 1999 which left at least 845 people dead.
It followed an even larger quake months earlier in the city of Izmit, 100km to the west, which killed more than 17,000 and left buildings in the region in a weakened state.
Some 80% of Duzce's buildings have been rebuilt since the 1999 earthquakes, the city's mayor told local media.
