A powerful earthquake has struck Turkey. The magnitude of the tremor was 6.1 on the Richter scale. At least one person was killed in the earthquake that struck the province of Balikesir, near Turkey's largest city, Istanbul.

In addition, many buildings have been destroyed, the British media outlet BBC reported on Monday (August 11).

An elderly woman was killed and several buildings collapsed in a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey's northwestern Balikesir province on Sunday evening local time, the media reported.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said an 81-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble in the town of Sindirgi, where the quake's epicenter was, but died a short time later.

He added that at least 16 buildings had collapsed and at least 29 people were injured. Turkey's Disaster Management Agency said the earthquake struck at 7:53 p.m. local time, and was felt as far away as Istanbul.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished a speedy recovery to the victims in a statement, saying rescue operations were being closely monitored. "May Allah protect our country from all kinds of disasters," he wrote on social media platform X.

The Home Minister said the rescue operation has ended and there are no further reports of serious damage or casualties.

However, images released from Sindirgi show that large buildings have completely collapsed and huge piles of rubble have been created.

Turkey is prone to earthquakes because it sits at the junction of three major tectonic plates, according to the BBC. In February 2023, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the southeast killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and another 5,000 in neighboring Syria.

More than two years have passed since the devastating earthquake, but hundreds of thousands of people displaced at that time have still not been able to return home.