Two people are dead and hundreds more injured after a
powerful earthquake struck off the Turkish coast
overnight, triggering a tsunami that hit tourist resorts in the
Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and damaging buildings across the region.
The epicentre of the magnitude-6.7 quake was off Bodrum, southwest Turkey, with the country's Aegean coast and Greek holiday
islands including Kos and Rhodes worst affected. Tens of thousands of
tourists who were forced to sleep outdoors have now been warned of
possible aftershocks.
Holidaymakers
fled hotels in terror and some even jumped from balconies as the quake
hit before running for their lives to higher ground as tsunami waves
surged through beachfront resorts moments later, flooding bars and
restaurants, carrying away cars and depositing boats in town streets.
On
the island of Kos, two male tourists - a 22-year-old from Sweden and a
39-year-old from Turkey - were killed after being crushed under a
collapsed ceiling at the White Corner Club bar. Another man from Sweden
has apparently lost his legs, police said.
Parts
of a historic mosque in Kos Town also came crashing down into the
street and rescuers were this morning sifting through rubble looking for
trapped survivors. Some 8,000 Britons are believed to be staying on the
island, which was also badly affected by the tsunami.
In
Turkey, at least 70 people were admitted to hospitals in Bodrum. Video
taken when the quake hit showed staff and patients at Bodrum State
Hospital cowering for cover, while the devastation caused a large
electrical fire to break out in the city after a power pylon came
crashing to the ground.
No comments: