Ankara mayor: Turkey may be ‘targeted by man-made earthquakes’

JEDDAH: Ankara’s mayor blamed Monday’s earthquake, which hit western Turkey and the Greek islands, on foreign powers’ aim to undermine the country’s economy.

In a series of tweets, Ibrahim Melih Gökçek said that this is not the first time Turkey is being targeted by “man-made” earthquakes.

“Now I think that this might be a man-made earthquake. I do not say it is certain but it is a very serious possibility,” Gökçek tweeted.

“I say that it should definitely be investigated. Was there any seismic research ship sailing near the epicenter? If so, which country does it belong to?” he said.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 damaged scores of homes on the eastern Greek island of Lesbos Monday, injuring at least 10 people. It was also felt in western Turkey, including in Istanbul, and on neighboring islands.

The mayor later shared YouTube videos explaining the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), urging people to watch carefully.

Gökçek previously claimed that quakes in the western province of Canakkale could have been caused by dark external powers.

“Today a serious earthquake occurred in Çanakkale. I have investigated and there is a ship conducting seismic research nearby. What this ship is researching and which country it belongs to should be solved urgently. I worry about a potential earthquake that could be triggered artificially. This should definitely be investigated and announced to the public,” he said.

According to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management, the epicenter of Monday’s undersea earthquake was at a shallow depth of 7 km.

At least 25 aftershocks have been recorded following the initial quake at 3:28 p.m. (1228 GMT).

The earthquake was also felt in densely populated Istanbul and the western Turkish province of Izmir, but no injuries were reported there.

Earthquakes are frequent in Greece and Turkey, which are on active fault lines. Two devastating earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999, killing about 18,000 people. Experts in both countries said more aftershocks are to be expected from Monday’s earthquake.