Earthquake in Greece kills two, sends island tourists into funk, News
Earthquake in Greece kills two, sends island tourists into scare
A cafe setting is littered with rubble following a strong earthquake on the Greek island of Kos early Friday.
Sander van Deventer via AP
KOS, Greece (AP) — A powerful earthquake sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar on the Greek holiday island of Kos and struck scare on the nearby shores of Turkey early Friday, killing two people and injuring some two hundred people.
Rescue authorities said two dudes from Turkey and Sweden died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the 6.5-magnitude quake struck at about 1:30 a.m., rattling Greek islands and the Turkish Aegean coast in a region where seismic activity is common. The dead vacationers were not named.
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 earnestly injured on Kos as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies. Five of the injured were being transported by helicopter to a hospital on the island of Crete, officials said.
“There was banging. There was jiggling. The light was swinging, banging on the ceiling, crockery falling out of the cupboards, and pans were making noise,” Christopher Hackland, a Scottish diving instructor, told the Associated Press.
“There was a lot of screaming and howling and hysterics coming from the hotel. It felt like being at a theme park with one of the illusions, an optical illusion where you feel like you’re upside down.”
Ems of thousands of tourists spent the night outdoors on Kos, many sleeping on sunbeds along beaches as a quake-related sea erect subsided. The quake bruised 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.
Boat captain Metin Kestaneci, 40, told the private Dogan news agency that he was asleep on his vessel when the quake hit.
“There was very first a noise and then a roar. Before I could ask ‘what’s happening?’ my boat was dragged toward the shore. We found ourselves on the shore,” Kestaneci said. “I’ve never experienced such a thing.”
Turkish authorities said some seventy people were treated in hospitals in the resort of Bodrum for minor injuries, mostly sustained during panicked flight from their homes. But harm was light and they expect life will soon comeback to normal. With tourists continuing their holidays.
Several Greek government ministers, as well as rescuers with sniffer dogs and structural engineers traveled to Kos overnight to coordinate the rescue effort. The British Foreign Office warned travelers of the possibility of aftershocks, urging them to go after the advice of the local authorities.
Authorities said there were no reported injuries of refugees and migrants at camps on the island.
A seafront road and parts of the island’s main town were flooded for several hours, and the rising seawater even shoved a boat onto the main road and caused several cars to wedge into each other. Ferry services were canceled until further inspection, with passengers rerouted to nearby islands.
Greek officials said the quake was 6.5-magnitude and the numerous aftershocks were weaker but still could put at risk the buildings that were already bruised. The epicenter was six miles (Ten kilometers) south of Bodrum, Turkey, and ten miles (16 kilometers) east-northeast of Kos with a depth of six miles (Ten kilometers).
“The harm on the island (of Kos) is not widespread. The airport is working, and the road network and infrastructure are in good form,” Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.
“The harm was at the bar and the old part of the town and we had the very unfortunate deaths of the two people.”
The collapsed building dated to the 1930s, according to Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis. “There are not many old buildings left on Kos. Almost all the structures on the island have been built under the fresh codes to withstand earthquakes,” the mayor said.
Rescuers were checking for trapped people inwards houses across Kos at dozens of villages and other sites, but said the harm was limited to the island’s main town.
Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece; Wieting reported from Bitez, Turkey. Associated Press journalists Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Elena Becatoros in Saranda, Albania; and Ron DePasquale and Stephanie Siek in Fresh York contributed.
Earthquake in Greece kills two, sends island tourists into scare, News
Earthquake in Greece kills two, sends island tourists into scare
A cafe setting is littered with rubble following a strong earthquake on the Greek island of Kos early Friday.
Sander van Deventer via AP
KOS, Greece (AP) — A powerful earthquake sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar on the Greek holiday island of Kos and struck funk on the nearby shores of Turkey early Friday, killing two people and injuring some two hundred people.
Rescue authorities said two fellows from Turkey and Sweden died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the 6.5-magnitude quake struck at about 1:30 a.m., rattling Greek islands and the Turkish Aegean coast in a region where seismic activity is common. The dead vacationers were not named.
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 earnestly injured on Kos as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies. Five of the injured were being transported by helicopter to a hospital on the island of Crete, officials said.
“There was banging. There was wiggling. The light was swinging, banging on the ceiling, crockery falling out of the cupboards, and pans were making noise,” Christopher Hackland, a Scottish diving instructor, told the Associated Press.
“There was a lot of screaming and weeping and hysterics coming from the hotel. It felt like being at a theme park with one of the illusions, an optical illusion where you feel like you’re upside down.”
Ems of thousands of tourists spent the night outdoors on Kos, many sleeping on sunbeds along beaches as a quake-related sea erect subsided. The quake bruised 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.
Boat captain Metin Kestaneci, 40, told the private Dogan news agency that he was asleep on his vessel when the quake hit.
“There was very first a noise and then a roar. Before I could ask ‘what’s happening?’ my boat was dragged toward the shore. We found ourselves on the shore,” Kestaneci said. “I’ve never experienced such a thing.”
Turkish authorities said some seventy people were treated in hospitals in the resort of Bodrum for minor injuries, mostly sustained during panicked flight from their homes. But harm was light and they expect life will soon come back to normal. With tourists continuing their holidays.
Several Greek government ministers, as well as rescuers with sniffer dogs and structural engineers traveled to Kos overnight to coordinate the rescue effort. The British Foreign Office warned travelers of the possibility of aftershocks, urging them to go after the advice of the local authorities.
Authorities said there were no reported injuries of refugees and migrants at camps on the island.
A seafront road and parts of the island’s main town were flooded for several hours, and the rising seawater even shoved a boat onto the main road and caused several cars to jam into each other. Ferry services were canceled until further inspection, with passengers rerouted to nearby islands.
Greek officials said the quake was 6.5-magnitude and the numerous aftershocks were weaker but still could put at risk the buildings that were already bruised. The epicenter was six miles (Ten kilometers) south of Bodrum, Turkey, and ten miles (16 kilometers) east-northeast of Kos with a depth of six miles (Ten kilometers).
“The harm on the island (of Kos) is not widespread. The airport is working, and the road network and infrastructure are in good form,” Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.
“The harm was at the bar and the old part of the town and we had the very unfortunate deaths of the two people.”
The collapsed building dated to the 1930s, according to Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis. “There are not many old buildings left on Kos. Almost all the structures on the island have been built under the fresh codes to withstand earthquakes,” the mayor said.
Rescuers were checking for trapped people inwards houses across Kos at dozens of villages and other sites, but said the harm was limited to the island’s main town.
Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece; Wieting reported from Bitez, Turkey. Associated Press journalists Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Elena Becatoros in Saranda, Albania; and Ron DePasquale and Stephanie Siek in Fresh York contributed.
