MOM, KIDS RESCUED FROM TURKISH QUAKE RUBBLE; DEATH TOLL TOPS 80

A mother and three of her children were pulled to safety after being trapped for almost 18 hours under a building in the western Turkish city of Izmir that was flattened in a powerful earthquake, Murad Sezer and Ece Toksabay reported for Reuters. 

One of the children succumbed to his injuries later in hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in Izmir. The child was one of over 80 people killed in Friday’s quake in Turkey and on the Greek island of Samos. Rescuers were continuing efforts to free the woman’s fourth child. The mayor of the Aegean port city said around 180 people remained trapped. “In the meantime, we are delighted to be hearing miracles happening as a result of diligent work by rescue teams,” Mayor Tunc Soyer told television channel Fox TV. 

Earlier, Kyodo news agency said the powerful quake in the Aegean Sea triggered a tsunami, causing some coastal residential areas to be inundated with sea water. The temblor occurred at 2:51 p.m. local time and originated at a depth of about 20 kilometers near Samos, according to the US Geological Survey. The shaking was also felt in Istanbul. 

Straddling many active faults, Turkey is an earthquake-prone country. More than 17,000 people died in a strong quake in 1999, while another in 2011 killed some 600 people, Kyodo added.