At Least 2 Dead After Quake of 6.7 Magnitude Hits Greek Island Kos

Greece and Turkey lie in an especially earthquake-prone zone.

At Least Two Dead, Several Injured

At least two people were killed and several injured on Greece's Kos island by a strong earthquake that struck between Greece and Turkey early on Friday, the mayor of the Greek island said.

We have two dead and some people injured so far

Kos Mayor George Kyritsis to Reuters

Greece's fire service reported it had rescued three people from a damaged building.

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.7 killed two people when it struck near major Turkish and Greek tourist destinations in the Agean Sea on Friday, Turkish and Greek officials said.

The quake, which struck at 1:31 a.m. (2231 GMT on Thursday), was located off the southwestern coastal city of Marmaris in the Mugla province, the USGS said. It was close to the Turkish towns of Bodrum and Datca, and the Greek island of Kos in the Dodecanese Islands archipelago, all of which are major tourist destinations.

The European quake agency EMSC said a small tsunami could be caused by the quake, but Turkish broadcasters cited officials saying large waves were more likely.

The tremor, initially reported as a magnitude 6.9, was very shallow, only 6.2 miles (10 km) below the seabed, the USGS said.

Turkey's AFAD said the temblor had a magnitude of 6.3, while local authorities said the quake was felt across the Aegean coast.

A magnitude 6.7 quake is considered strong and is capable of causing considerable damage, but the effects of this one would have been dampened by striking in the sea.

(With inputs from AP and Reuters)