A magnitude 6.2 quake shakes Istanbul and injures more than 230 people

ISTANBUL (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas of Turkey on Wednesday, prompting widespread panic and scores of injuries in the city of 16 million people, though there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

At least 236 people were treated for injuries they suffered while trying to jump from buildings or for panic attacks — most of them in Istanbul, where residents are on tenterhooks because the city is considered at high risk for a major quake.

The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey, with its epicenter about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara.

It was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir and in the coastal city of Izmir, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Istanbul. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the earthquake lasted 13 seconds and was followed by more than 100 aftershocks — the strongest measuring 5.9 in magnitude.

The quake started at 12:49 p.m. Wednesday, a public holiday, when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets of Istanbul. Panicked residents rushed from their homes and buildings into the streets. Authorities urged residents to avoid entering buildings that might have been damaged and said sports halls and mosques would be open to house residents not wanting to spend the night in their homes.

“A total of 236 citizens were affected by panic attacks and from falls or from jumping," Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said. He said 173 of the injuries were in Istanbul while the rest were in surrounding provinces.

Authorities had received 378 reports of “structural damage” in various buildings, said Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, adding that 12 buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

Only one building — a derelict, long-abandoned structure in the city's historic Fatih district — had collapsed, officials said.

Many residents flocked to parks, schoolyards and other open areas to avoid being near buildings in case of collapse or subsequent earthquakes. Some people pitched tents in parks.

"Thank God, there does not seem to be any problems for now," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at an event marking the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day holiday. "May God protect our country and our people from all kinds of calamities, disasters, accidents and troubles.”

Leyla Ucar, a personal trainer, said she was exercising with her student on the 20th floor of a building when they felt intense shaking.

“We shook incredibly. It threw us around, we couldn’t understand what was happening, we didn’t think of an earthquake at first because of the shock,” she said. “It was very scary.”

Senol Sari, 51, told The Associated Press he was with his children in the living room of their third floor apartment when he heard a loud noise and the building started shaking. They fled to a nearby park where they “waited for it to pass," Sari said.

They later were able to return home calmly, Sari said, but remain worried that a bigger quake will someday strike the city. "Our concerns continue," he said.

Cihan Boztepe, 40, hurriedly fled to the streets with his family to avoid a potential collapse of their building. Standing next to his sobbing child, Boztepe told the AP that in 2023, he was living in Batman province, an area close to the southern part of Turkey where major quakes struck at the time. Wednesday's tremor felt weaker, and he wasn’t as scared.

“At first we were shaken, then it stopped, then we were shaken again," he said. "My children were a little scared, but I wasn’t. We quickly gathered our things and went down to a safe place.”

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin announced that schools would be closed on Thursday and Friday in Istanbul but that "in line with the need for a safe space, our school gardens are open to the use of all our citizens.”

Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and a second powerful tremor hours later, killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey 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 neighboring Syria.

Istanbul was not impacted by that earthquake, but the devastation heightened fears of a similar quake, with experts citing the city’s proximity to fault lines.

In a bid to prevent damage from any future quake, the national government and local administrations started urban reconstruction projects to fortify buildings at risk and launched campaigns to demolish those at risk of collapse.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul who was jailed last month on corruption charges, released a statement through his lawyers, expressing his sadness at not being able to be with the city’s residents.

“As managers and urban planners who have dedicated their lives to disaster-focused planning in Istanbul and who have struggled for this purpose, my greatest sadness is that we can’t be with you,” the mayor said.

Many view the arrest of the politician, considered a key rival to Erdogan, as being politically motivated. The government insists the courts operate independently.

On Wednesday, long queues formed at gas stations as residents, planning to leave Istanbul, rushed to fill up their vehicles. Among them was Emre Senkay who said he might leave if a more severe earthquake strikes later in the day.

“My plan is to leave Istanbul if there is a more serious earthquake," he said.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press reporter Robert Badendieck in Canakkale, Turkey, contributed to this report.

People gather outdoors away from urban areas following an earthquake shock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People gather outdoors away from urban areas following an earthquake shock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People gather outdoors following an earthquake shock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People gather outdoors following an earthquake shock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People gather outdoors following an earthquake shock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)