ISTANBUL — One person has died in Turkey after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the north-west province of Balikesir on Sunday evening.

An 81-year-old woman passed away shortly after she was pulled out from rubble in the town of Sindirgi, which was the epicentre of the quake, Turkey's interior minister said.

Sixteen buildings collapsed as a result of the tremors, and 29 people had been injured, Ali Yerlikaya added.

Turkey's disaster management agency said the quake was recorded at around 19:53 local time (16:53 GMT), and was felt as far away as Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement wishing a swift recovery to everyone who was affected, and said that all recovery efforts were being closely monitored.

"May God protect our country from any kind of disaster," he wrote on X.

Search and rescue operations have now concluded, and the interior minister said that there were no other signs of serious damage or casualties.

Pictures from Sindirgi, however, show large buildings totally flattened and towering piles of twisted metal and debris.

Turkey is located at the intersection of three major tectonic plates, and experiences frequent seismic activity as a result.

In February 2023, more than 50,000 people were killed when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the south-eastern region of the country.

A further 5,000 were killed in neighbouring Syria.

More than two years on from that quake, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced. — BBC