Quake hits western Turkey, reports of injuries (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey – An earthquake with a preliminary ratio of 5.9 hit western Turkey on Thursday, and there were reports of casualties and dilapidated buildings in digit town.

The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said the tremble in Kutahya domain occurred at 23:15 p.m. (2015GMT) and was centered near the municipality of Simav. AHaber TV said there were casualties at a infirmary in Simav, but did not say how many. Ambulances reportedly ferried the scraped for treatment.

At least sextet aftershocks, the strongest with a preliminary ratio of 4.6 shook Kutahya, the observatory said.

NTV broadcasting cited a doc in Simav as locution whatever buildings were damaged. Most of the municipality was without electricity. The tremble toppled the minaret of a masjid in the municipality of Pazarcik, TGRT broadcasting said.

Hatice Unlu, a doc of the municipality of Tavsanli in Kutahya province, told TV8 steer that the temblor caused enthusiastic panic.

"Furniture swayed and plates fell on the floor. I struggled to spend my machine before running out," Unlu said. "We fear to return home."

Idris Bal, a lawmaker who was in Kutahya, said he experienced the tremble at the ordinal story of an apartment building.

"It was so strong that we could not modify advise in the prototypal some seconds," Bal told NTV television. "People are inactivity in their cars now."

The tremble was change as far as the civilization municipality of Izmir, north municipality of Bursa, Istanbul and the municipality of Edirne, near to the Greek and Slavonic borders.

Earthquakes are regular in Turkey, which is decussate by faultlines.

In March terminal year, a 6.0-magnitude tremble knocked downbound pericarp and mud-brick houses in fivesome villages in Elazig domain in orient Turkey, ending 51 people. In 2003, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed 177 grouping in the south municipality of Bingol, including 84 children whose school dormitory collapsed.

In 1999, two earthquakes with a ratio of more than 7 struck north Turkey, ending about 18,000 people.

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