Six injured as powerful quake shakes southwestern Turkey

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook southwest Turkey on Sunday and at least six people were injured after jumping from their balconies or windows in panic, local media reported. However some reports suggest 60 people went to hospital for treatment.

Turkish news channel NTV reported that six or seven people were being treated for injuries in a local hospital, citing local health officials.

However, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted the local media as saying that around 60 people went to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, heart complaints and shock.

There were no immediate reports that tourists were among the injured.

Witnesses said phone lines are down in Fethiye, the closest town to the quake's epicenter. As the quake was in the Aegean Sea, it was also felt on the Greek island of Rhodes, but no injuries or casualties were reported there.

Earthquakes are a daily occurrence in Turkey, which is crisscrossed by geological fault lines. In October last year, more than 600 people died in the eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude.

And in 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in the country's densely populated northwest.