Ankara: Moderate earthquake tremors were felt in Turkey’s northwestern province of Dujce. The intensity of the earthquake was measured at 5.9 on the Richter scale, in which at least 50 people were injured.
The injured are being treated at hospitals in and around Duj. The country’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, speaking to the country’s television channel NTV, said that some people were injured and one person was seriously injured when he jumped from a balcony in fear of the earthquake.
There were no reports of heavy damage to houses and buildings. The minister informed that the epicenter of the earthquake was in Dujce province, located about 200 km east of the country’s largest city Istanbul. He told reporters that power was cut in the area and later restored in some areas.
Earlier, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 22 people were injured in the quake, one of whom was in serious condition.
NTV showed footage of people running out of buildings in panic and waiting in the streets for the quake to stop.
According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the earthquake occurred at 04:08 am local time and 106 aftershocks were felt in a row. Earlier in 1999, Dujce was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which killed nearly 800 people.