Strong quake hits southwest Turkey

Istanbul: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake was recorded in southwestern Turkey on Thursday, according to the US Geological Studies Institute, with reports of collapsed buildings but no serious casualties.

The earthquake was recorded in the province of Denizli near the town of Bozkurt at 1125 GMT, with a depth of around seven kilometres according to Turkish emergency services.

"Some roofs collapsed, there were deep fissures, several houses collapsed," Bozkurt mayor Birsen Celik told TV station NTV.

"No one was killed. There were no serious injuries," he added.

Turkey lies on major fault-lines and has suffered several quakes in the west and southwest of magnitude five and above since the start of the year.

The country is about to mark 20 years since the devastating twin quakes in 1999, both over magnitude -7, that hit a highly populated zone in the northwest, leaving some 20,000 dead.