Death toll reaches 26 in quake that hit Turkey, Greek island

Rescue teams on Saturday plowed through concrete blocs and debris of eight collapsed buildings in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos killing at least 26 people. More than 800 others were injured.

The quake hit Friday afternoon, toppling buildings in Izmir Turkey’s third largest city, and triggering a small tsunami in the district of Seferihisar and on Samos. The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

Early on Saturday, onlookers cheered as rescued lifted teenager Inci Okan out of the rubble of a devastated eight-floor apartment bloc. Friends and relatives waited outside the building for news of loved ones still trapped inside, including employees of a dentist’s surgery that was located on the ground floor.

Two other women, aged 53 and 35, were rescued from another collapsed two-story building.

At least 24 people were killed in Izmir, including an elderly woman who drowned, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD.

Two teenagers were killed on Samos after being struck by a collapsing wall. At least 19 people were injured on the island, with two, including a 14-year-old, being airlifted to Athens and seven hospitalized on the island, health authorities said.

The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, with seawater flooding streets in the main harbor town of Vathi. Authorities warned people to stay away from the coast and from potentially damaged buildings.

The earthquake, which the Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, struck at 2:51 p.m. (1151 GMT) in Turkey and was centered in the Aegean northeast of Samos. AFAD said it measured 6.6.

It was felt across the eastern Greek islands and as far as Athens and in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it shook the regions of Aegean and Marmara, including Istanbul. Istanbul’s governor said there were no reports of damage in the city, Turkey’s largest.

Authorities warned residents in Izmir not to return to damaged buildings, saying they could collapse in strong aftershocks.

More than 3,000 rescue personnel were sent to Izmir, as well as relief supplies. The Turkish Red Crescent set up kitchens.

In a show of solidarity rare in recent months of tense bilateral relations, Greek and Turkish government officials issued mutual messages of solidarity while the presidents of Greece and Turkey held a telephone conversation.

Relations between Turkey and Greece have been particularly tense, with warships from both facing off in the eastern Mediterranean in a dispute over maritime boundaries and energy exploration rights. The ongoing tension has led to fears of open conflict between the two neighbors and NATO allies.

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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.