MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressing condolences over casualties and destruction caused by an earthquake in Izmir province. The telegram was published on Friday on the Kremlin website.

"Accept the deepest condolences in relation to human victims and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake in Izmir province. Please convey words of sympathy and support to families and friends of those killed as well as wishes of the soonest recovery to all those affected as a result of this disaster," the Russian President noted in the telegram.

The earthquake of a magnitude of 6.7 occurred on Friday in the sea 19 kilometers to the northeast of the island of Samos, it was felt in Athens and Istanbul. Shocks led to a destruction of at least 20 houses in Turkey’s Izmir, some buildings in the Greek town of Neon Karlovasi were also destroyed. Rescuers are sifting through the rubble looking for survivors. There have been casualties, hundreds of people were injured.