Tourists stranded as disaster strikes off Greek, Turkish coasts

KOS, Greece - A powerful earthquake sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar on the Greek holiday island of Kos and struck panic on the nearby shores of Turkey on Friday, killing two tourists and injuring nearly 500 people.

Rescue authorities said two men from Turkey and Sweden died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the 6.5-magnitude quake struck at about 1:30 am, rattling Greek islands and the Turkish Aegean coast in a region where seismic activity is common.

At least five other people were seriously 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 shaking. The light was swinging, banging on the ceiling, crockery falling out of the cupboards, and pans were making noise," said Christopher Hackland, a Scottish diving instructor.

"There was a lot of screaming and crying 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."

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.

In nearby Turkey, ensuing panic caused minor injuries, according to Esengul Civelek, governor of Mugla province. In Bitez, a resort town about 6 kilometers west of Bodrum, the quake sent frightened residents running into the streets.

Hotel guests briefly returned to their rooms to pick up their belongings but chose to spend the rest of the night outside, with some using sheets and cushions borrowed from nearby lounge chairs to build makeshift beds.

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 follow the advice of the local authorities.

Authorities said there were no reported injuries of refugees and migrants at camps on the island.

Rising seawater

A seafront road and parts of the island's main town were flooded for several hours, and the rising seawater even pushed a boat onto the main road and caused several cars to slam into each other. Ferry services were canceled until further inspection, with passengers rerouted to nearby islands.

Greek officials said the quake was magnitude-6.5 and the numerous aftershocks were weaker but still could put at risk the buildings that were already damaged.

"The damage on the island (of Kos) is not widespread. The airport is working, and the road network and infrastructure are in good shape," Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.

"The damage 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. Nearly all the structures on the island have been built under the new codes to withstand earthquakes," the mayor said.

Rescuers were checking for trapped people inside houses across Kos at dozens of villages and other sites, but said the damage was confined to the island's main town.

AP - Reuters