BALIKESIR, Turkey — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday evening, killing an 81-year-old woman and injuring 29 others, officials confirmed. The quake’s epicenter was near the town of Sindirgi, where sixteen buildings collapsed under the tremors, according to Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
The elderly woman died shortly after being pulled from the rubble, the minister said. Search and rescue efforts have since concluded with no further casualties reported, though damage to structures was significant. Images from Sindirgi showed flattened buildings and piles of twisted metal and debris.
The earthquake occurred around 19:53 local time (16:53 GMT) and was felt as far away as Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences and wished a swift recovery to those affected. “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster,” he wrote on X.
Turkey lies at the crossroads of three major tectonic plates, making it highly vulnerable to frequent seismic activity. In February 2023, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey killed over 50,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. The same disaster also claimed approximately 5,000 lives in neighboring Syria. More than two years later, many affected remain displaced, highlighting the ongoing challenges Turkey faces in disaster preparedness and recovery.
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