A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes the Turkish Aegean coast, causing at least two deaths

A strong earthquake shook the Turkish Aegean coast on Friday and caused at least 20 buildings to collapse in Izmir, the third largest city in the country and one of its economic poles.

The Minister of the Interior has assured that at the moment there is no record of deaths, but rescue teams are already working to remove people who have been trapped from the rubble.

Shortly after, the mayor of Bornova district (Izmir), Mustafa Idug, claimed that two people had died.

The earthquake occurred at 2:51 p.m. local time (two hours less on the Peninsula) in the Aegean Sea, 17 kilometers off the Turkish coast and at a depth of almost 12 kilometers.

It had a magnitude of 6.8 according to the Kandilli Seismological Institute in Istanbul, although the counterpart institution in the United States raises it to magnitude 7.

Turkish televisions showed images of several buildings of four or five floors completely collapsed and in which rescue teams worked around the clock to try to remove the rubble.

According to the metropolitan mayor of Izmir, Tunç Soyer, the most affected neighborhood is Bayrakli, where there would be more damaged buildings.

The authorities have asked citizens to stay abroad and not return to their homes if they are damaged.

The

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also reported that several pipes have burst causing flooding.

At sea, the earthquake produced a tsunami and the waves washed away several ships in the port of Sigacik.

Several waves also reached the Greek island of Samos, covering the streets with water.

The mayor of the Turkish coastal town of Seferihisar, Ismail Yetiskin, explained that the water also entered there and flooded several houses.

"We have no information on the deceased but there probably are," he announced.

He also said that it has not been possible to establish contact with the fishermen of the town who at the time of the earthquake were fishing in the sea.