Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 strikes eastern Turkey

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit eastern Turkey, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Thursday.

The EMSC in its statement revealed that the depth of the quake was recorded at 10 km (6 miles).

Last year, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, the hardest hit by a February 6 tremor which left more than 41,000 dead in the country, the disaster response agency AFAD said.

The quake hit the town of Defne at 8:04 pm (1704 GMT) and was strongly felt by AFP teams in Antakya and Adana, 200 kilometres (300 miles) to the north.

AFP teams felt the tremor also in Lebanon and Syria.

The disaster management agency said on Twitter another 5.8-magnitude tremor followed three minutes later and its epicentre was Samandag district in Hatay.

An AFP journalist reported scenes of panic in Antakya, adding that the new tremors raised clouds of dust in the devastated city.

The walls of badly damaged buildings crumbled while several people, apparently injured, called for help.