Greece, Turkey pledge mutual aid after 6.7-magnitude quake

Greece and Turkey have pledged mutual aid after a massive earthquake measuring 67 on the Richer scale jolted the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos killing 22 people and injuring over 790 othersThe US Geological Survey USGS said Fridays earthquake which was centred off Turkeys Izmir province triggered a minitsunami that flooded Izmir and Samos reports the BBCSeismologists monitoring seismic activity in the affected area have advised people to stay away from damaged buildings Xinhua news agency reportedNumerous aftershocks have been recorded so far with the strongest measuring 5 on the Richter scale according to a report by the Greek national news agency AMNAThe 67magnitude quake was which was felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul and aftershocks as strong as magnitude 62 are expected to follow Akis Tselentis director of the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens told AMNAOf the 22 victims 20 were reported in Izmir and two in Samos who were high school student At least 786 were injured in Izmir and eight others on SamosThe quake damaged buildings mainly old constructions and parts of Samos road network and material damages have also been reported on the nearby islands of Chios and Ikaria according to AMNAOur condolences and thoughts go to the families of the victims of the earthquake in Samos and Izmir Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou tweetedHuman tragedy knows no boundaries We hope for the least possible fatalities while our duty now is to provide immediate support to the islandIn a post on social media Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said I just called Turkish President Erdogan to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countriesWhatever our differences these are times when our people need to stand togetherRelations between Greece and Turkey have been particularly strained in recent months by a dispute relating to control of territorial waters in the Mediterranean and the resources beneath themMeanwhile President Erdogan said his government would help those affected by the quake with all the means available to our stateAlso Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias tweeted that he spoke with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu expressing Athens readiness to immediately send to Ankara members of its disaster relief unit to help in extracting people trapped in buildingsThe two earthquakeprone countries have experienced several destructive quakes in recent yearsThe rapprochement known as GreekTurkish earthquake diplomacy started in the aftermath of the 1999 quake that hit both countriesIn January more than 30 people were killed and more than 1600 injured when an earthquake struck Sivrice in Turkeys eastern Elazig provinceIn July 2019 the Greek capital Athens was hit by a tremor that knocked out power to large parts of the cityA powerful quake that struck the Turkish city of Izmit near Istanbul in 1999 killed about 17000 peopleKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever