Buildings collapsed and at least 22 people were killed when a powerful earthquake hit Turkey and Greece on Friday afternoon.
The catastrophic 7.0-magnitude earthquake sent buildings crashing down and triggered a ‘mini tsunami.’ Authorities said 20 people died in Turkey’s coastal areas and two teenagers – a girl and a boy – were killed on the Greek Island of Samos.
In Turkey, more than 20 buildings in Izmir city were destroyed, Mayor Tunc Soyer confirmed to CNN. The country’s disaster agency said that at least 786 people have been injured.
The agency also said that a total of 196 aftershocks have been recorded and 23 of those were over 4.0 magnitude.
Rescue and search operations continue in collapsed buildings, said Turkey’s Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum.
Suleyman Soylu, an interior minister, said six buildings were destroyed in two parts of Izmir.
Haluk Ozener,the director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, said that a mini tsunami struck the Seferisar district of Izmir.
Photos from the disaster area showed thick smoke blowing over Izmir city, confused people walking through rubbles, and debris being washed away by flood.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “with all the means of our state, we stand by our citizens affected by the earthquake. We have taken action to start the necessary work in the region with all our relevant institutions and ministers.”
Erdogan also offered condolences to Greece and said “that two neighbors showed solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things.”
He added: “Turkey, too, is always ready to help Greece heal its wounds.”
The prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, offered condolences for the victims in Turkey and said: “whatever out differences, these are the times when our people need to stand together.”
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that his country had offered to send assistance to Greece and Turkey.
“France stands alongside the Turkish and Greek peoples in facing this terrible ordeal,” he said. “If the governments of these countries so wish, French aid can be immediately sent to the scene.”
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