British tourists in Turkey have described the terrifying moment an earthquake hit Marmaris, leaving some “running” to protect children. An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale hit Marmaris, Turkey, during the early hours of this morning.
It’s since been confirmed that a 14-year-old girl sadly died following the incident. According to the Turkish disaster control authority, the earth tremors were felt at 2.17am on Tuesday, June 3.
As well as this, neighbouring regions also felt the earthquake, including the Greek island of Rhodes, and many people were woken from their sleep. According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), a quake measuring a 6.2 magnitude hit Rhodes this morning too.
Now British tourists have described the terrifying moment they felt the tremors in Turkey, describing how they “jumped” on children to protect them from harm. One woman, called Rebecca, admitted it was “so scary” as she detailed her experience on TikTok.
The holidaymaker, known as rebeccaeliza86 on the platform, said: “The whole bedroom was just shaking like crazy. The bed was just vibrating like crazy – we ran in to protect the children, just jumped on them.
“One hotel worker just jumped out of the window, because the whole building was just shaking like crazy. The whole hotel has had to just come outside now. Fair play, they’re giving water and everything out to everybody, but we have to wait for aftershocks, so we have to stay outside.”
Rebecca said she hopes everybody is safe following the incident, and she wasn’t the only person to share her experience. In Greece, another social media user, known as strawbz938, said: “Earthquake just shook the life out of our hotel.
“Scooping up my babies and we are flying home. Hope everyone’s safe in Greece.”
Under Rebecca’s video, one person commented: “Rhodos here. We felt everything from the quake. We woke up – everything shaking. So scary – didn’t sleep anymore. Stay safe.”
Another wrote: “I’m in Marmaris – that was a weird experience to wake up to.” A third replied: “We’re in Dalaman. We felt it too. I must admit, I had to change my underpants. This was a first for me.”
One more commented: “I’m 16 weeks pregnant, and got woken up by it. Couldn’t sleep – hope you and your family stay safe.”
At first, the governor of Marmaris, Idris Akbiyik, claimed there was no instant report of any major damage. However, it was later confirmed that 69 people sustained injuries after jumping from heights out of fear and a 14-year-old girl died.
According to The Mirror, a post translated to English, which was shared by Idris Akbiyik, said: “During the earthquake in Fethiye, our 14-year-old daughter, Afranur Günlü, was taken to hospital due to a panic attack, but unfortunately lost her life despite all interventions. In Muğla and its districts, 14 of our 69 citizens who jumped from heights due to panic were treated on site.
“Eight people were treated and discharged on an outpatient basis. The examinations and treatments of 46 of our citizens continue in the emergency room.
“I wish God’s mercy upon our deceased Afranur child and offer my condolences to his family. I offer my best wishes to our citizens affected by the earthquake. May God protect our country and our nation from disasters.”
Due to the fact that Turkey lies on major fault lines, earthquakes can often occur there. In 2023, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 killed over 53,000 people.
