A moderate 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook buildings and damaged two mosques in Istanbul on Thursday, slightly injuring eight people and causing residents to rush from buildings.
TWO MINARETS HAVE COLLAPSED
“Despite this earthquake having a magnitude that could be considered serious, we have not as yet received heartbreaking news, just some small damage,” President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference. He said eight people had been treated for slight injuries, but did not provide further details.
The top section of a minaret had collapsed at the central mosque in Istanbul’s Avcilar district, close to the Marmara Sea, CNN Turk footage showed. Another minaret collapsed in the Sariyer district of the city, the municipality’s disaster coordination center said.
Video reveals moments of panic during the earthquake WATCH
“There will be aftershocks of this quake. What we ask from citizens is that they don’t enter damaged buildings,” Murat Nurlu, head of the earthquake department at Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD), told Reuters.
SOME BUILDINGS DAMAGED
Cracks emerged in some buildings across the city. Two of them in the Sultangazi and Eyup districts were damaged, AFAD said in a statement, clocking the quake at 5.8 magnitude.
Mobile phone users had difficulty making calls shortly after the quake. AFAD said work was continuing to resolve the problem in communications.
SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN ORDERED SHUT
The epicentre was 22 km from the nearest inhabited area, Silivri, AFAD said. It said there had been 28 aftershocks, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 4.1.
Students were evacuted from schools WATCH
The Istanbul governor’s office said primary and middle schools had been ordered shut for the remainder of the day.