Girl, 14, killed after Turkey and Greece hit by magnitude 5.8 earthquake

A teenager has died from a ‘panic attack’ after an earthquake hit the Turkish coast.

The 5.8 magnitude quake hit at around 2.17am local time not far from Marmaris in Turkey,which also affected Greek islands including Rhodes.

Travel agencies have urged tourists to stay calm after the quake,which shook buildings but does not appear to have caused much,if any,damage.

Two government officials have said a 14-year-old girl died due to a ‘panic attack’ caused by the earthquake.

Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on X: ‘During the earthquake in Fethiye,our 14-year-old daughter,Afranur Günlü,was taken to hospital due to a panic attack,but unfortunately lost her life despite all interventions.’

Several more people have been injured trying to jump out of their buildings in a panic.

The earthquake has also been felt on the Greek island of Rhodes (Picture: Metro Graphics)

Mr Yerlikaya said 14 out of 69 people that jumped from their buildings were treated by medics at the scene,with 46 people still in hospital.

He added: ‘I convey my get well wishes to all our citizens,may God have mercy on our deceased child,and wish a speedy recovery to our injured citizens.’

There has been no damage to infrastructure caused by the earthquake,Mr Yerlikaya said,with no damage to any residential buildings reported.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre confirmed the quake,saying it hit at a depth of 68km (42miles).

Matthew McCormick is on holiday on Rhodes with his mum,wife and two children,and felt the earthquake at around 2am local time.

He told Metro: ‘The whole hotel was shaking. You could literally feel the bed moving and the ground beneath our feet shaking.

‘It woke myself,my wife and our four-year-old. She was terrified as it was fairly loud.

Locals and tourists alike were left shaken (Picture: X)

‘It woke my elderly mother who was in another room also. Our seven-year-old slept through it thankfully.

‘It took a while to settle after it happened as we all felt a little concerned. It was a surreal experience.

‘Guests all seemed to gather on the landing and look around in disbelief at what had happened. Staff just assured that everything was OK.’

Meanwhile Jay Fitzpatrick,from Manchester,is on holiday in the Sarigerme area of Turkey with his wife and nine-year-old daughter.

Describing the moment the earthquake hit,he told Metro: ‘We were woken by the room shaking a lot at around 2.15am and the sound of an earthquake alarm on our daughter’s iPad.

‘Very shocked by it all but the locals seem to be very calm. No obvious damage anywhere thankfully.’

‘I felt a very small tremor many years ago in the UK but nothing like that.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since nearby Crete was shaken by a massive 6.1 magnitude earthquake,which triggered a tsunami warning.

People fled their homes in the panic (Picture: X)

Matthew,from Belfast,said they booked this holiday before the earthquake in Crete,and had also visited Turkey a few weeks ago.

He added: ‘It didn’t raise too many concerns before coming,although this was a fairly big one and caused a lot of concern.’

Jay had also already booked the trip before the earthquake in Crete,adding: ‘We were aware and it’s quite close proximity between Rhodes and our location in Turkey,but it hadn’t crossed our minds.’

According to the regional earthquake-tsunami monitoring centre at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul,there have been a total of 179 seismic events in Turkey so far this month.

The vast majority of these,163 events,were below 3.0 magnitude.