Four people have been killed and 120 injured in Turkey after a major earthquake struck, destroying buildings and sparking a tsunami warning on the Greek islands.
One of those who died had drowned, according to Turkey’s disaster management authority.
The epicentre of the tremor of magnitude 7 was in the Aegean Sea some 11 miles (17 km) off the coast of Turkey’s Izmir province, at a depth of 10 miles (16km).
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The earthquake was felt across the region, including in Istanbul, the Greek islands and as far as the capital Athens and Bulgaria.
People poured onto the streets in panic in Izmir city following the quake, witnesses said.
The mayor of Turkey’s third biggest city, which has around 4.5 million residents, said nearly 20 buildings had collapsed.
Turkey’s health minister Fahrettin Koca said 38 ambulances, two helicopters and 35 medical rescue teams were involved in the operation.
Footage from the area showed flattened buildings and survivors being pulled from the rubble by emergency workers.
Izmir’s governor said 70 people had been rescued from the ruins.
Student Ilke Cide said he went inland after waters rose following the quake.
“I am very used to earthquakes… so I didn’t take it very seriously at first but this time it was really scary,” he said,
A tsunami warning was issued, with residents on the nearby Greek island of Samos, which has a population of about 45,000, told to stay away from the coast.
Water rose above the dock in the main harbour of Samos and flooded the street.
Residents were also told to stay away from buildings as aftershocks rattled the area.
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Local officials reported damage to buildings and part of the island’s road network, while eight people were slightly injured.
Samos’ vice-mayor George Dionysiou said: “We have never experienced anything like it. People are panicking.
Greek seismologist Efthymios Lekkas said: “It was a very big earthquake, it’s difficult to have a bigger one.”
Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
More than 17,000 people were killed in August 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul.
In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.
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