ANKARA — A seven-story building has collapsed in the northwest Turkish city of Gebze, with five members of the same family trapped under the rubble.

İlhami Aktaş, Gebze’s governor, confirmed the development on Wednesday, saying it was unclear whether there were any casualties.

His comments came as teams from the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) continued rescue operations at the site.

The cause of the building’s collapse is currently unknown, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

However, Zinnur Büyükgöz, the mayor of Gebze, told local reporters that it may have been caused by nearby metro construction.

The incident in Gebze comes just days after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit western Turkey on Monday, causing three buildings and a two-storey shop in the town of Sındırgı in Balıkesir province to collapse.

Turkish officials, who said there were no reports of casualties, explained that the structures were uninhabited after being damaged in a previous earthquake.

A total of 22 people were hurt in panic-related falls, said İsmail Ustaoğlu, the governor of Balıkesir.

Monday's earthquake struck at 10:48 pm local time (8:48 pm CET) at a depth of almost 6km, said AFAD. It was followed by several aftershocks, and was felt in Istanbul as well as the nearby provinces of Bursa, Manisa and Izmir. — Euronews