Turkey quake sparks panic

Most of the injuries occurred when local residents jumped out of their windows in panic, which the Istanbul seismological institute timed at 03:40 (02:40 SA time).

However, several houses were reported to have collapsed in Seferihisar, a coastal town about 40km from Izmir, while massive cracks also appeared in buildings.

The quake was also reported by the seismological observatory in Athens, which estimated its intensity at 5.2 points on the Richter scale.

Izmir governor Yusuf Ziya Goksu said some 90 local residents in Izmir were slightly injured after jumping out of their windows, while hundreds stayed outside as aftershocks continued.

"We were very shaken very strongly and hundreds of people went out into the streets, where they have stayed due to numerous aftershocks," said Sinan Taskin, an Izmir inhabitant.

The Athens observatory said no casualties were reported in Greece. It situated the epicentre of the quake at a point under the Aegean Sea, 267km east of Athens and 30km north of the island of Samos.

On Wednesday a moderate earthquake which reached 4.8 on the Richter scale shook the Gulf of Antalya region on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, but there were no reports of damage or victims.

Turkey’s location on several major fault lines makes it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. In August and November 1999 more than 20 000 people were killed after quakes centered in the western Marmara sea, which was also felt in Istanbul. – Sapa-AFP