Two killed, scores injured as 6.7-magnitude quake hits Turkish and Greek coasts

A strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea has killed at least two people on the Greek island of Kos

Damage caused by a quake in Kos, Greece
Damage caused by a quake in Kos, Greece

Two people, likely foreign tourists, were killed and more than 100 people injured on the Greek island of Kos when an earthquake shook popular Greek and Turkish holiday destinations in the Aegean Sea.

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck 10.3 kilometres south of the major Turkish resort of Bodrum, a magnet for holidaymakers in the summer, and 16.2 kilometres east of the island of Kos in Greece, the US Geological Survey said.

"We have two dead and people injured," a hospital official on Kos told AFP news agency, adding that the victims were killed when the ceiling of a building collapsed.

Local officials said 100 were injured on the Greek holiday island of Kos, a popular destination particularly with British holidaymakers.

Greek authorities had dispatched helicopters to airlift the injured to the larger island of Rhodes for treatment, Yiorgos Hadjimarkou, the head of the South Aegean region said.

The Greek coastguard said damage was reported to the port of Kos, which is near a tourist strip of cafes and bars. A passenger ferry was unable to dock because of extensive damage.

Reports said the state hospital in Bodrum was evacuated after cracks appeared, with new patients being examined in a garden outside.

The governor of the southern Mugla province - where Bodrum is located - said some people had been slightly injured after falling out of windows in panic.

Television footage showed throngs of worried residents and holidaymakers in Bodrum's streets.

"The biggest problem at the moment are electricity cuts in certain areas (of the city)," Bodrum mayor Mehmet Kocadon told NTV television.

"There is light damage and no reports that anyone has been killed" in the area, he added.

The quake struck Friday at 1:31am local time (23:31 CET on Thursday).