Magnitude 5 earthquake jolts Türkiye's Hatay

A building damaged after the February 6 quakes in Hatay's Kırıkhan district. (Photo: AA/File)

A fresh earthquake hit Türkiye's southern Hatay province today (February 23), the country's disaster agency announced.

The magnitude 5 tremor hit the Defne district at 6.53 p.m. local time (3.53 GMT) at a depth of 9.76 kilometers, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said a few buildings, which were already damaged from the previous quakes, collapsed.

There were no injuries or people trapped in the debris according to initial reports, he added.

On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.4 quake jolted Hatay, killing six people, just two weeks after powerful tremblors hit Türkiye's southern region.

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş.

The quakes caused destruction in 10 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 42,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. (VK)