ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed deep concern at a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that flattened buildings in Türkiye’s Balikesir province, saying that Pakistan stands ready to offer any assistance to Ankara. 

Türkiye’s disaster management agency said the quake was recorded at around 19:53 local time (16:53 GMT) on Sunday evening and was felt as far away as Istanbul. An 81-year-old woman passed away shortly after she was pulled from the rubble in the town of Sindirgi, which was the epicenter of the quake, Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

He said 16 buildings had collapsed in the province due to the tremors, injuring around 29. None of the injured were critically wounded, Yerlikaya said. 

“Deeply concerned by the earthquake in Turkiye’s Balıkesir province,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. “I convey my heartfelt sympathies to my dear brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and assure him that Pakistan stands ready to extend all possible assistance.”

Television footage showed rescue teams asking for silence so they can listen for signs of life beneath the rubble. Türkiye’s disaster management agency said the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6 magnitude, and urged citizens not to enter damaged buildings.

President Erdogan issued a statement following the earthquake, wishing all affected citizens a speedy recovery.

“May god protect our country from any kind of disaster,” the Turkish president wrote on X.

Türkiye sits on top of major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent. In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Türkiye and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces.

Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of Syria.