July 21: At least two tourists have been killed and more than 500 others injured after a powerful earthquake shook the Greek Islands and Turkish coast, triggering a small tsunami.
The 6.7-magnitude quake struck in the Aegean Sea on Thursday night south of the Turkish city of Bodrum and east of the small Greek island of Kos - both areas popular with British holidaymakers.
It sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar in the Old Town of the main port on Kos, killing two men - a 27-year-old from Sweden and a 39-year-old from Turkey - and injuring scores of others in scenes of panic.
Other holidaymakers were injured when they lept to safety from balconies of other buildings. Greek health officials said 13 people were flown to hospitals in Athens and on the islands of Rhodes and Crete.
The earthquake triggered a small tsunami that brought two-foot tidal waves that caused flooding in Bodrum and parts of Kos, which took the brunt of the impact with significant damage to buildings.
Tourists were forced to flee their hotels when the quake hit at around 1.30am local time on Friday (10.31pm GMT Thursday) and experienced more than 20 aftershocks throughout the night.
The effects of the quake were felt by people miles away from the epicentre. Many ran from their homes or holiday apartments with pillows and blankets.
Tens of thousands of holidaymakers spent the night outdoors on Kos, with many sleeping on sunbeds along beaches and in squares.
More than 200 people were injured on Kos.
Some had been trapped when buildings collapsed. Many suffered broken bones, with a number in a serious condition. Police said the injured including tourists of various nationalities.
The Turkish health minister said that almost 360 people were hurt in the resort of Bodrum.
Of the victims in Bodrum, 25 remained in hospital on Friday morning. Some had broken bones, but the health minister said there were no serious injuries.
Among those who felt the earthquake on Kos was British student Naomi Ruddock, who is on holiday with her mother. “We were asleep and we just felt the room shaking,” she said. “The room moved.
Literally everything was moving. “And it kind of felt like you were on a boat and it was swaying really fast from side to side - you felt seasick.” Hundreds of revelers were in or near the popular White Corner Club in the old town of Kos when the building partially collapsed.
At least five other people were seriously injured on Kos as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies.
The quake damaged churches, an old mosque, and the port’s 14th century castle, along with old buildings in the town.
In nearby Turkey, the quake caused cracks on walls of some buildings in the resort of Bodrum, flooded the lower floors of sea-front hotels and restaurants and sent moored boats crashing toward the shore.
- The Telegraph