At 4:17 a.m. on Monday morning, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred in southern Turkey.

Over 5,300 casualties have so far been reported from Turkey and Syria.

In less than a month, on March 2, the Indoor European Championships will start in the country's most visited city: Istanbul.

"Of course terrible"

And the news of the earthquake has of course been noted by the Swedish medalist Thobias Montler.

- It's obviously terrible, he says to SVT Sport.

- You obviously think that you could have been there yourself, it's only a few weeks difference.

So it's clear that it's something you think about.

But at the same time, I have a hard time settling into it.

But of course it is very sad.

Reassuring message from seismologist

The Swedish Athletics Federation's general secretary Stefan Olsson has of course also noted the news about the earthquake, but explains that it does not entail any special actions on the part of the federation at the moment.

- It is clear that we have noted with sadness that it has happened.

But we have also noted that it is in a different part of Turkey.

But during the day we have not received any indications from the European Athletics Federation or elsewhere that it will affect the EC.

But we haven't done any research of our own, he says.

Björn Lund, seismologist at Uppsala University, however, gives reassuring news.

- Since 1939, when there was an earthquake as big as the one that happened yesterday, there have been large earthquakes that have moved westward along the northern coast of Turkey until 1999. And there people are still worried: "Will it come another earthquake in the Istanbul region, in the Sea of ​​Marmara where this fault goes?” he explains, before elaborating:

- So it's a troubled place, you could say.

So it could be that this big quake affected this area a little, but I don't really think it does much.

It is too far away to make a real impact.

So I don't think it matters that much because it happened so far southeast, what happened yesterday.

Istanbul is approximately 110 miles northwest of the quake's epicenter.

- And the aftershocks are definitely not a problem, because they stay away.

And it's too far away for it to be a long-term impact.

If this earthquake had triggered anything in any other part of Turkey, it would have happened yesterday.