The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 5:56 am (0356 GMT), was in the town of Akhisar, in the province of Manisa, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said.

Locals rushed out of their homes in panic and some shopwindows were broken during the tremor, which was also felt in nearby towns, Anatolia said.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by several seismological fault lines. Some 20,000 people perished in two massive tremors in heavily industrialized northwestern Turkey in August and November 1999.

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