Earthquake off Turkish coast kills woman on island

ISTANBUL — A woman died on the Greek island Lesbos Monday when an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.2 struck off the coast of western Turkey.

The earthquake was felt in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir, about 200 miles from Istanbul, and in the provinces of Canakkale and Bursa.

The Aegean Sea quake caused significant damage on Lesbos, a popular tourist destination, and triggered panic as people ran from their homes into the open, officials and witnesses said.

Lesbos mayor Spyros Galinos and the fire service said the woman was found dead in the southern village of Vrisa, which was worst-hit by the quake, which had its epicenter under the sea.

“Most houses in Vrisa have suffered severe damage,” Mr. Galinos said, adding that afflicted residents were being relocated to temporary housing set up in a football field in a nearby village.

At least 12 people were injured, the Greek news agency ANA-MPA reported.

Local authorities and the fire service said there were no reports of other people trapped or missing.

Earlier, rescuers pulled out an elderly couple alive from their damaged home in Vrisa.

Turkey’s disaster and emergency authority AFAD put the quake’s magnitude at 6.2, while the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 6.3 magnitude.

In the area of Plomari in the south of Lesbos, a church steeple was damaged and cracks appeared on the walls of several houses, Deputy Mayor Manolis Armenakas said.

There were also several landslides, partially blocking roads, he said. The Greek capital Athens, about 185 miles from the epicenter, also felt the quake.

The depth of the quake off Izmir was 5.6 miles, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center.

There was no reported damage or injuries at refugee camps on Lesbos or the nearby island of Chios. Both islands saw a major influx of migrants leaving from Turkey in 2015, and about 8,000 remain in limbo in Lesbos and Chios as they await news on their asylum applications.

Turkey is on major geological fault lines and the Anatolian heartland has suffered serious damage from earthquakes in recent years.

A magnitude-7.2 earthquake killed more than 600 people in the eastern province Van in 2011.