UPDATE 2 - Magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolts Turkey's Aegean region

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM TURKISH ENVIRONMENT MINISTER; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Firat Tasdemir

ANKARA (AA) - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolted Turkey's Aegean region on Friday, according to the nation’s disaster agency.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the quake occurred at 2.51 p.m. local time (1151GMT) at a depth of 16.54 kilometers (around 10 miles).

Bugra Gokce, the secretary-general of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, told news channel NTV that some houses in the city had been destroyed in the tremor.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said the quake was also felt in Istanbul, but no "negativities" were reported.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that six buildings in the Aegean Izmir province were reportedly destroyed by the earthquake.

No causalities were reported, the minister added.

Other western Turkish provinces, including Usak, Denizli, Manisa, Balikesir, Aydin and Mugla saw small damages to some buildings, he said.

Turkish search-and-rescue teams continue their work on the field, the minister added.

Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum said that people were trapped under debris of five demolished buildings in Izmir after the earthquake.

The minister also said he was heading to the region, along with Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli.

The National Observatory of Athens Geodynamic Institute initially put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6 but later revised it to 6.7. The quake struck northwest of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, said the observatory.