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Two People Killed in Strong Quake Off Turkish and Greek Coasts | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A man walks near a damaged building after an earthquake on the Greek island of Kos early Friday, July 21, 2017. (Kalymnos-news.gr via AP)


Two people died early Friday and scores were injured on the island of Kos in Greece when a powerful earthquake shook popular Greek and Turkish holiday destinations in the Aegean Sea.

The epicenter of the 6.7 magnitude quake was some 10.3 kilometers south of the major Turkish resort of Bodrum, and 16.2 kilometers east of the island of Kos in Greece, the US Geological Survey said.

Police said a 22-year-old Swede and a 39-year-old Turk died in an area abuzz with nightlife. Another man from Sweden has apparently lost his legs, they said.

They were found on the street, crushed either by the collapsed wall of a bar or by stones that fell from old houses nearby.

Television footage showed gutted stone buildings and island streets filled with rubble. The quake, followed by a wave of aftershocks, also damaged a historic mosque and split the port’s dock, which has been shut down.

A small tsunami subsequently sent fishing boats crashing into the harbor.

Hundreds of people were queuing at Kos airport on Friday, with several flights canceled.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said that although the port of Kos was closed to traffic, damage elsewhere was minimal.

“Things on the island seem to be under full control and normality has returned,” Tzanakopoulos told state TV ERT.

“The airport is operational and the roads are in good shape…there is no major damage to infrastructure or buildings,” he said.

The Greek secretary of state for the merchant navy Nektarios Santorinios, said the injury toll had risen to 120.
Reports said the state hospital in the popular Turkish resort of Bodrum was evacuated after cracks appeared, with new patients being examined in a garden outside.

Esengul Civelek, 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.

TV footage showed people abandoning buildings and waiting on Bodrum’s streets.

The Adliye mosque in central Bodrum suffered some damage. Turkish television said the earthquake triggered high waves off Gumbet near Bodrum which flooded a road and left parked cars stranded but there were no reports of casualties.

The governor said there were no initial reports of major damage, although Mayor Osman Gurun said power outages hit parts of the province.