An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit northwestern Turkey on Tuesday and was felt in Istanbul, just days after another quake of the same size in the area, Turkey's earthquake monitoring centre said, according to Reuters. CNN Turk quoted local officials saying the earthquake had caused no deaths or damage and they had no reports of injuries. The quake's epicentre was in the Sea of Marmara, which lies alongside Istanbul, and the shocks were briefly felt in Turkey's largest city of 12 million residents. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was of 5 magnitude and was centred 29 km (40 miles south of Istanbul. On Friday another small quake hit the province of Balikesir, which lies across the Marmara from Istanbul, but there were no injuries. Turkey, which lies on a major fault line, has suffered devastating earthquakes in the past and in August 1999 nearly 18,000 people were killed in a quake, also centred in the Sea of Marmara.
