Yet another earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hits Turkey, more buildings collapse

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday - three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region - causing some buildings to collapse, an official said. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

AFAD, Turkey's disaster management agency, said that close to 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region affected by the quake since Feb. 6.

A father and daughter were reported trapped beneath the rubble of one building. Monday's earthquake was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, the country's disaster management agency told news agency PTI.

Yesilyurt's mayor, Mehmet Cinar, told HaberTurk television that a number of buildings in the town collapsed, including a four-story building where a father and daughter were trapped.

Cinar said the pair had entered the damaged building to collect belongings.

Elsewhere in Malatya, search-and-rescue teams were sifting through the rubble of another building that toppled on top of some parked cars, HaberTurk reported.

Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkiye and northern Syria on February 6.

AFAD, Turkiye's disaster management agency, said that close to 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region affected by the quake since February 6.

The most recent significant earthquake to occur in Turkey was on Feb 06, 2023, when a magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6, centred in the province of Kahramanmaras, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa, as per the news report. Turkey's neighbouring countries, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the tremors.

That quake led to more than 50,000 deaths in both countries as well as the collapse or serious damage of 173,000 buildings in Turkey.