Earthquake hits Turkish coast

A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck Turkey’s Aegean coast today, sending residents into the streets in panic and toppling the minaret of a mosque.

At least three people were injured when the quake struck and was centred in the small town of Ula, near the resort of Marmaris, the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said. Several aftershocks followed.

It was also felt in the nearby holiday resort of Bodrum and in the Aegean port city of Izmir.

Three people were taken to hospital in Marmaris with broken legs or minor injuries sustained while trying to escape their homes.

The minaret of a mosque in the village of Akyaka, near Marmaris, crashed to the ground. The quake also caused small cracks in walls while rocks fell onto to a highway, blocking it for several hours.

Quakes are frequent in Turkey, with much of the country above the active North Anatolian fault.

Two devastating earthquakes killed about 18,000 people in north-western Turkey in 1999.