Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the death toll on Twitter, as people in and around the Turkish city of Izmir gathered in the streets after fleeing their buildings to seek safety. At least 120 people have been injured.
Izmir’s mayor told CNN Turk that at least 20 buildings were destroyed.
Images showed a car crushed under a building that had collapsed and people digging through the rubble, apparently in search of survivors.
TV footage showed water flooding through the streets in Izmir province as well as the Greek island of Samos, in what authorities called a “mini tsunami.” No tsunami warnings appeared to have been issued.
Zeki Soysal, a resident in Izmir province, told CNN Turk that he made it out of his office building just in time before it collapsed.
“There was an older woman in the building but we saved her, she got out. There is another building close to this…
