An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted northwestern Turkey and was felt in Istanbul on Tuesday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

According to the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Seismology Institute, the earthquake occurred at 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) in the northwestern Turkish province of Bursa and the epicenter was in Gemlik Gulf. The earthquake was also felt in the provinces of Kocaeli and Sakarya, the report said.

Bursa Governor Nihat Canpolat was quoted as saying that there was no immediate report of casualties or damage in the earthquake.

"Except for a few villages, there is not any place we could not reach for the time being. We have not received any immediate reports of casualties or damage so far," he said.

Meanwhile, Mehmet Baygul, deputy mayor of Gemlik, said, "everything is normal in our town. The quake lasted for 15-20 seconds. It did not cause any casualties or damages. Our residents have calmed down."

Yusuf Ziya Ince, acting mayor of the neighboring city of Canakkale, said that the quake caused no casualty or damage in the city.

Last Friday, an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shook Turkey's northwestern province of Balikesir, causing no injuries or huge damage.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by several seismological fault lines. Two massive quakes killed more than 18, 000 people in Turkey in 1999.

Source: Xinhua