Egypt condoled on Saturday with families of the victims of the earthquake that hit the Aegean Sea region on Friday afternoon.

Many deaths and hundreds of injuries were reported in the Turkish Izmir city and the Greek island of Samos, a statement by the foreign ministry read.

The earthquake, which the Istanbul-based Kandilli Institute said was of a magnitude of 6.9, was centred in the Aegean northeast of Samos and hit at a depth of some 16 kilometres (10 miles).

The quake destroyed buildings in Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, triggering a small tsunami in the district of Seferihisar and on Samos, according to AP. The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

It was felt across the eastern Greek islands and as far as Athens and in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it shook the regions of Aegean and Marmara, including Istanbul. Istanbul's governor said there were no reports of damage in the city, Turkey's largest.

At least 24 people were killed in Izmir, including an elderly woman who drowned, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD.

AP quoted the health authorities as saying that two teenagers were killed on Samos after being struck by a collapsing wall. At least 19 people were injured on the island, with two, including a 14-year-old, being airlifted to Athens and seven hospitalised on the island.