6.7 magnitude quake in Greece leaves 2 people dead, hundreds injured

At least two were killed and hundreds of people were injured after a 6.7 magnitude quake struck between Bodrum and Greek islands. Turkish and Greek officials said the quake shook major tourist destinations in the Aegean sea on Friday.

The quake’s epicenter was about 10.3 kilometers south of Bodrum and 16.2 kilometres east of the island of Kos in Greece, according to the US Geological Survey. It had a depth of 10 kilometers.

The USGS, which monitors earthquakes, described it as a very shallow quake. It was 10km below the seabed off the southwestern coastal city of Marmaris.

A hospital official told AFP that the quake claimed two lives on the Greek island of Kos. They were killed when a ceiling of a building collapsed. Identities of the casualties were not immediately available.

Kos mayor George Kyritsis confirmed through Reuters that at least two were killed in the Greek island. “We have two dead and some people injured so far,” he said.

Beds shook

Turkish pensioner Dilber Arikan, who was holidaying in Bodrum, said that aftershocks followed. “The bed shook a lot,” the Inquirer quotes him, adding bottles fell and broke in the kitchen and the patio. He shared he was scared because he was alone.

The Greek island of Rhodes was also impacted. Teddy Dijoux, who was with his family at a Rhodes resort, said they were surprised and scared as they hurriedly went outside. Meanwhile, Turkey’s disaster and emergency management’s Mehmet Halis Bilden has warned citizens about aftershocks that continue to persist.

Television photos from the Turkish resort of Bodrum showed worried residents in the streets. Bodrum mayor Mehmet Kocadon told NTV television that the biggest problem now is the electricity cuts in certain areas.

The earthquake also shook Datca peninsula, another key resort area, and in Turkey’s third city of Izmir on the Aegean to the north. According to Turkish media, the quake triggered high waves off Gumbet near Bodrum.

The area was flooded and cars were stranded. No casualties were reported in the area.

Both Turkey and Greece are sited on fault lines. In recent years, the countries have regularly been hit by earthquakes.

Turkey’s western Aegean coast, for instance, was hit by a number of significant earthquakes this year. A 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit a village on the Greek island of Lesbos in June, leaving one woman dead and 15 people injured. On August 17, 1999, a quake near the city of Izmit killed thousands of people.

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