site.btaUPDATED 5.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Eastern Turkiye

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale shook eastern Turkiye on Wednesday. Some 100 people were injured, HTB TV reported.

The tremor was registered in the town of Kale, Malatya County, at 10:46 am, the Turkish government's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said.

The focus of the quake was at a depth of 10.07 kilometres. 

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the earthquake was of the sixth Richter magnitude.

The earthquake was felt in neighbouring Syria, as well as in the Turkish districts of Diyarbakir, Elazig, Kahramanmaras, Tokat, Erzincan, Tunceli, Adiyaman, state television TRT-Haber reported.

At this stage, there is no information about injured people and damage caused, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya was quoted by TRT-Haber as saying. 

Emergency response units have been dispatched to the area to carry out a ground survey for possible damage, Yerlikaya said.

Malatya is among the worst-hit counties by the devastating earthquakes on February 6 of 2023 with magnitudes of 7.6 and 7.7, which killed over 53,000 people.

Three buildings partially collapsed in the earthquake, the Interior Minister said later, as quoted by TRT-Haber. He clarified that the buildings are located in Malatya, Sanliurfa and Elazıg, and at this stage there is no information about any people injured in the earthquake.

The earthquake was followed by 30 aftershocks (with a magnitude of up to 3 on the Richter scale), TRT-Haber said.