A 6.5-magnitude earthquake sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar on the Greek island of Kos, killing two people and injuring more than a hundred. The quake also caused panic on the nearby shores of Turkey as a 70cm (28-inch) tsunami swept boats onto roads.
Damage caused by an earthquake in Kos is seen in this photograph uploaded on social mediaOsman Turanli/Social Media/Reuters
Rescue authorities said a Swedish man and a Turkish man died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the quake struck at about 1.30am. They have not yet been named. The collapsed building dated to the 1930s, according to Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis. "There are not many old buildings left on Kos. Nearly all the structures on the island have been built under the new codes to withstand earthquakes," the mayor said.
A car is seen under the debris of a collapsed building, after an earthquake off the island of KosCostas Baltas/ReutersMedics transfer an man injured during an earthquake off the island of Kos, to the hospital of the city of Heraklion on the island of CreteStefanos Rapanis/ReutersThe quake-damaged Church of Saint Nicholas on the Greek Island of KosLouisa Gouliamaki/AFPA man stands next to debris following an earthquake on the island of KosCostas Baltas/ReutersA local resident looks at quake-damaged buildings on the Greek Island of KosLouisa Gouliamaki/AFPA motorbike lies in rubble following on the Island of Kos following a 6.5 magnitude earthquakeLouisa Gouliamaki/AFPA man looks at rubble fallen from a quake-damaged building on the Greek Island of KosLouisa Gouliamaki/AFPCracks are seen at the main port on the island of Kos after the earthquakeLouisa Gouliamaki/AFPTourists look at the damaged Ottoman-era Defterdar mosque following an earthquake on the island of KosCostas Baltas/ReutersTourists wait outside the terminal building at the airport on the Greek Island of KosLouisa Gouliamaki/AFP
Local Kos residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies. Tens of thousands of tourists spent the night outdoors on Kos, many sleeping on sun beds along beaches as a quake-related sea swell subsided. The quake damaged churches, an old mosque, and the port's 14th century castle, along with old buildings in the town. The British Foreign Office has warned travellers of the possibility of aftershocks, urging them to follow the advice of the local authorities.
A woman sleeps by the pool at the Marmara Club-Hotel in Theologos on the island of RhodesSonia Bakaric/AFP
Across the narrow Aegean Sea, about 70 people were admitted to hospital with minor injuries in Turkey's Bodrum. Several stores were damaged in Bodrum's Gumbet district by rising sea levels, store owners told broadcaster NTV.
A car and debris are seen after a tsunami in the resort town of Gumbet in Mugla province, TurkeyYasar Anter/Dogan News/ReutersPeople wait in front of a hospital in the resort town of Bodrum in Mugla province, Turkey, after an earthquakeDogan News Agency/ReutersA man looks at damaged boats at a beach following a sea surge caused by an earthquake in Bodrum, TurkeyDogan News Agency/AFPA damaged vehicle is seen following a sea surge caused by an earthquake in Bodrum, TurkeyDogan News Agency/AFPDamaged boats are seen after a tsunami in the resort town of Gumbet in Mugla province, TurkeyKenan Gurbuz/ReutersDamaged boats are seen after an earthquake and a tsunami in the resort town of Gumbet in Mugla province, TurkeyYasar Anter/Dogan News AgencyReutersPeople stand next to damaged boats after a tsunami in the resort town of Gumbet in Mugla province, TurkeyKenan Gurbuz/Reuters
Turkey's location between the Arabian tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate renders it prone to earthquakes. In October 2011, more than 600 people died in the eastern province of Van following a 7.2-magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks. In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in Turkey's densely populated northwest. The same year, a 5.9 magnitude quake killed 143 people in Greece.