Istambul: A strong earth quake killing atleast 14 people and injured hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding, said officials. The earth quake struck in the Aegean Sea on Friday between the Turkish coasts and the Greek Island of Samos. A small Tsunami struck Seferihisar district of Izmir, the city in western turkey that was the worst affected, said Haluk Oziner, director of the Istambul-based Kandilli observatory and earth quake research institute. The earth quake which the Kandilli institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, struck at 2.51 pm local time (05:21pm IST) in turkey and was centered in the Aegean North East of Samos at a depth of 16.5 kms.

Atleast 12 people were killed Izmir, including one who drowned, according to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management presidency, or AFAD. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking in Istambul, said 438 were injured with five undergoing surgery at eight in the ICU. On Samos, two teenagers died after being struck by a wall that collapsed.

The Tsunami that hit the Turkey’s coast also affected Samos. Izmir governor Yavuz selim Kosger said atleast 70 people were rescued from wrecked buildings, with four destroyed and morethan 10 collapsed. Others suffered less severe damage he said. But did not give an exact number. Search and rescue effort were under way in atleast 17 buildings, said the sources.

The earth quake which the Kandilli institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, struck at 2.51 pm local time (05:21pm IST) in turkey and was centered in the Aegean North East of Samos at a depth of 16.5 kms. It was felt across the eastern Greek island and as far as Athenes and in Balgeria. In Turkey, it was felt across the regions of Aegene and Marmara, including Istambul.