Rescuers continued on Friday evening to dig through concrete blocks in western Turkey in search of more survivors, after a strong earthquake left at least 26 people dead and 800 wounded in the country and in neighboring Greece.
Rescuers in Bayraklı, Izmir, tried to pave a road through the rubble of a 7-storey building, asking people at the site to remain silent in an attempt to find survivors, according to an AFP journalist.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the 7.0 magnitude tremor was centered off Turkey's Izmir province, and it was recorded shortly before 12.00 GMT.
70 people had been rescued from under the rubble, according to the authorities.
“Get well soon İzmir,” Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter in the aftermath of the quake.
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“With all the means of our state, we stand by our citizens affected by the earthquake,” Erdogan added. “ We took action to start the necessary work in the region with all our relevant institutions and ministers.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis conveyed his condolences to Erdogan after the deadly earthquake which hit both countries on Friday.
"Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together," Mitsotakis wrote on Twitter in reference to both countries clashing in last few months over tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan showed solidarity with Greece as he thanked Mitsotakis for his condolences and offered the same to Greece.
"Turkey, too, is always ready to help Greece heal its wounds," Erdogan said, adding "that two neighbors show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life."
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On the other hand, the United States hailed diplomacy between uneasy neighbors, Greece and Turkey, following a major earthquake and said it was ready to assist the NATO allies.
"It's great to see both countries putting their differences aside to help each other during a time of need. The United States also stands ready to assist," the national security advisor Robert O'Brien stated.
Much of the damage occurred in Turkey, as Izmir's mayor Tunc Soyer told CNN Turk that 20 buildings had collapsed, with officials focusing their rescue efforts on 17 of them.
Images showed vehicles crushed under the buildings and people digging through the rubble in search of survivors.
"It was a really strong shaker almost enough to knock you off your feet,” Chris Bedford, a retired British teacher who lives in Urla, west of Izmir, in Turkey, told the BBC. “ Running out of the house with my children was like a drunken wobble."
"I thought: Is it going to end? It felt like 10 minutes, like it was never going to end," Gokhan Kan, a 32-year-old courier said.
"I was terrified not for myself at that moment but for my family, my wife and 4-year-old son."
In Greece's island of Samos, two teenagers died while returning from schools, Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry confirmed, adding that their bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
9 people were injured and serious damage was reported as mini-tsunami flooded the port of Samos and a number of buildings were damaged.
"We felt it very strongly," local journalist Manos Stefanakis mentioned.
Residents were urged to stay outdoors and keep away from coastal areas. About 45,000 people live on Samos.
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