1 Killed, Buildings Toppled by New Tremor in Turkey

A strong tremor and aftershock hit northwest Turkey on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring dozens, sending already damaged buildings crashing down and terrifying survivors of the devastating quake two weeks ago.

An Istanbul hospital confirmed a 30-year-old man’s death from falling debris in the Sea of Marmara city of Izmit, and the government news agency cited other hospital officials as saying that at least 166 people here had been hurt.

In towns throughout the quake zone, frightened people wept, fainted and fled into the streets when the tremor hit at 11:11 a.m. Some leaped from windows in panic.

At least seven buildings collapsed, the news agency reported.

Istanbul’s main observatory said the quake’s magnitude was 5.2, making it the sharpest tremor since the hours just after the Aug. 17 earthquake, which killed more than 14,000 people and left more than half a million homeless. Thousands of others remain missing.

The tremor, which was a separate quake and not an aftershock to the Aug. 17 temblor, could be felt in Istanbul, 65 miles east of Izmit.

In Izmit, the quake and a magnitude 4.6 aftershock about 20 minutes later created panic, with people rushing outside out of fear that buildings would collapse. Even workers in the town’s government-run quake crisis center abandoned their offices and went to work in tents outside.

Part of a depot at a tire factory collapsed in Izmit. In the nearby town of Derince, a damaged six-story building fell down, the government news agency reported.

In the ravaged town of Adapazari, where more than 1,500 buildings are so badly damaged that they are slated for demolition, chunks of concrete fell as weakened buildings shook. Some of them shifted on their wrecked foundations.

Gardens, parks and open spaces were crowded with people afraid to be indoors. Authorities urged people not to go back into damaged buildings to retrieve furniture or valuables. Some of those hurt had been trying to salvage belongings from damaged homes.

Telephone lines were jammed, and TV stations reminded people not to make any nonessential calls.

Three smaller overnight aftershocks had magnitudes ranging from 3.1 to 3.3, the Istanbul observatory reported. More than 1,000 aftershocks have shaken Turkey since the quake, some of them powerful enough to topple quake-damaged buildings.

In Duzce, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 33 people held responsible for the collapse of several buildings where 1,117 people died and hundreds were injured.

Those being sought included contractors, owners and engineers who worked on the buildings, prosecutor Bilal Gunduz told the government news agency. Sixteen were already in police custody.