More than 200 injured after jumping from buildings in 6.2 earthquake in Istanbul

Independent

24-04-2025

At least 236 residents were injured after jumping from buildings in panic following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul on Wednesday.
Many residents were also forced to spend the night outdoors after powerful aftershocks.
The earthquake, with a shallow depth of six miles (10km), struck with its epicentre in the Sea of Marmara, about 25 miles (40km) southwest of Istanbul, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Health minister Kemall Memisoglu said a total of 236 people from across the city were being treated in hospitals after surviving falls or leaping from the building to escape the earthquake.
He said 173 of the injuries were in Istanbul while the rest were in surrounding provinces.
The earthquake struck at 12.49pm on Wednesday, a public holiday when many children were off from school and celebrating in the streets of Istanbul, the city of 16 million people.
The tremors were felt in the neighbouring provinces of Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir and in the coastal city of Izmir, some 340 miles south of Istanbul.
Only one building, a derelict, long-abandoned structure in the city's historic Fatih district, has collapsed, officials said.
Authorities received 378 reports of "structural damage" in various buildings, said environment, urbanisation and climate change minister Murat Kurum, adding that 12 buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
Hundreds of residents panicked because the city is considered at high risk for a major quake and resorted to jumping from the windows and balconies of their houses, fearing the collapse of the buildings.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the earthquake lasted 13 seconds and was followed by more than 100 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.9 in magnitude.
CCTV footage from a street showed a man jumping on the roof of a car and sliding down. He appeared hurt as he limped to walk away from the car.
A TV presenter appeared in shock and urged the control room to 'call my mum' as she was captured on camera during a live broadcast. CNN Turk presenter Meltem Bozbeyoğlu was visibly panicked as the studio shook and repeatedly called her team to dial her mother.
Authorities have urged the residents to avoid entering the buildings that might have been damaged and could be at risk of falling. People have been urged to move to sports halls and mosques that would be open to house residents not wanting to spend the night in their homes.
Some of the residents pitched tents in parks to spend the night outdoors as aftershocks continued to shake the buildings.
"Thank God, there does not seem to be any problems for now," president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at an event marking the National Sovereignty and Children's Day holiday.
"May God protect our country and our people from all kinds of calamities, disasters, accidents and troubles."
Leyla Ucar, a personal trainer, said 'it was a very scary' moment and happened when she was exercising with her student on the 20th floor of a building.
"We shook incredibly. It threw us around, we couldn't understand what was happening, we didn't think of an earthquake at first because of the shock," she said.
Senol Sari, 51, said he was with his children in the living room of their third floor apartment when he heard a loud noise and the building started shaking.
They fled to a nearby park where they "waited for it to pass", Mr Sari said, adding that they stayed worried even after returning home.
Cihan Boztepe, 40, said he fled to the street with his family and remembered the 2023 earthquake when he was living in the Batman province.
"At first we were shaken, then it stopped, then we were shaken again," he standing next to a sobbing child.
Schools have been shut down for the week till Friday in Istanbul but that "in line with the need for a safe space, our school gardens are open to the use of all our citizens', education minister Yusuf Tekin said.
Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.
At least 53,000 people were killed in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on 6 February 2023 which was followed by a second powerful tremor. The earthquake caused vast damage to buildings and roads in 11 southern and southeastern provinces.
The same earthquake killed 6,000 people in neighbouring Syria.
The earthquake has prompted an exodus-like situation with many people queuing outside petrol pump stations to leave Istanbul after the quake.
Among them was Emre Senkay who said he might leave if a more severe earthquake strikes later in the day.