An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck off the coast of northern Greece on Saturday, sending panicked residents into the streets in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, officials said. In Turkey about 270 people were hospitalized, most with minor injuries, as a tremor shook buildings, the government disaster and emergency department said.
The quake also rattled Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul, as well as the Aegean coastal city of Izmir and the popular tourism province of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast.
Hurriyet Daily News reported 30 people injured jumping out of apartments in the town and patients in one hospital were evacuated after cracks emerged in the building.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake occurred 69 km (42 miles) south-southwest of the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, between the islands of Lemnos and Samothrace, at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).
Greek police said the quake had caused minor damage to shops and houses on the two islands.
Seismologists described the quake, which was felt across Greece, as "severe" and warned that aftershocks measuring over 5.0 magnitude were likely.
Greece is often buffeted by earthquakes. Most cause no serious damage but a 5.9 magnitude quake in 1999 killed 143 people.
In Turkey, more than 600 people died in October 2011 in the eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude and powerful aftershocks. In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in the country’s densely populated northwest.
Saturday's tremor was also felt throughout Bulgaria, Reuters reports.
Hundreds injured as strong earthquake hits Turkey
More than 250 people were wounded on Saturday when a 6.9 magnitude undersea earthquake sparked panic in northwestern Turkey. Television footage showed hundreds of terrified residents fleeing buildings in several Turkish towns after the quake hit at 09:25 GMT. Turkey's emergency services department said 266 people were injured, mostly in the panic that followed the quake. A hospital was also damaged.
"The quake caused some damage to homes, but no serious destruction has been reported," said department official Murat Nurlu, AFP reports.
The US Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was under the Aegean Sea, off the Greek island of Lemnos, and put its magnitude at 6.9.
There were no reports of major damage or casualties on the island, although local police said a British tourist was slightly injured when part of the ceiling at Lemnos airport collapsed.
The tremor was felt in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and in Istanbul, a city of 15 million people.
Istanbul is in the area of Turkey that sits on the active North Anatolian fault line and was hit by two strong quakes in 1999 that killed around 200,000 people.
Earthquakes occur frequently in Greece. In January, thousands were left homeless by a quake on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, in the west.
Magnitude 6.4 eartquake hits Greece
A magnitude 6.4 quake struck off the coast of Greece on Saturday, some 77 km south-southwest of Alexandroupolis, at a depth of 91 km, the US Geological Survey said
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