KUALA LUMPUR, April 24- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, shared the anxious moment he and his entourage experienced when facing the 6.2 magnitude earthquake tremors in Istanbul, Turkiye, while at Istanbul Airport, getting ready to depart for London to continue their working visit.

In a post on Facebook, he informed that during the incident, he and his entourage were ordered to leave the VIP Terminal building as a precautionary measure after the first tremor, which was described as quite strong.

Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said that after about 15 minutes, they were allowed to re-enter the building, however, after the second tremor -- which he says was not so strong -- everyone was asked to go out again for 10 minutes.

“Alhamdulillah, my entourage and I arrived safely in London from Istanbul at 4.00 pm local time, after concluding a three-day official working visit to Turkiye.

"Thank you to everyone who asked how I was and prayed for us, following the earthquake that occurred in Turkiye," he said.

He informed that the flight from Istanbul to Gatwick Airport departed as scheduled at 2.20 pm Turkish time.

After completing an official working visit to Turkiye, Fadillah led the Malaysian delegation to the Future of Energy Security Summit in London on 24 and 25 April, organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) together with the United Kingdom (UK) government.

The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul and its surrounding areas yesterday has left at least 236 people injured.

Most of them were caused by panic and jumping from buildings.

Yesterday, three earthquakes were reported to have shaken Istanbul, Turkiye and its surrounding areas measuring up to 6.2 magnitude.

International media reported that the first tremor, measuring 3.9 magnitude, hit the coastal area of ​​the Silivri district at 12.13 pm, local time.

This was followed by a second tremor measuring 6.2 magnitude in the same area, before a 4.4 magnitude tremor hit the Buyukcekmece district.

The epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Sea of ​​Marmara, about 40 kilometres southwest of Istanbul, with a depth of around 10 kilometres.

On February 6, 2023, Turkey and Syria were hit by a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 59,000 people in both countries.