An 6.7 magnitude earthquake on the island of Samos caused a mini-tsunami in the Aegean which was so powerful as it rushed on Turkey’s west coast that it levelled buildings and killed two people in Samos and at least 522 injured and more than 14 deaths in Turkey, a number expected to rise.
The epicentre was registered 14 kilometres off the town of Karlovasi at 2pm Friday (local time).
Two teenagers, a boy and a girl both aged 17, were crushed by a building and a 14-year-old boy was airlifted to a hospital in Athens after being injured in the quake.
Much of the damage occurred in Turkey where three million people live in high-rise apartment blocks on the east coast where rescuers dug through heavy blocks of concrete with their bare hands.
Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna told TheNewspaper.gr that “all the furniture in the house were moved because of the earthquake. We were very scared. I have experienced the great earthquake of Volos, but this earthquake was different. I was at home at the time of the earthquake. We are concerned and it is still early, but so far no casualties have been reported. The church has been severely damaged.”
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Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the quake.
He tweeted: “I just called President Erdogan to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countries. Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together.”
In his response, the Turkish president’s spokesman Fahrettin Altun also conveyed Mr Erdogan’s condolences and the hope there is no more loss of human lives. This tragedy is a reminder of once again of how close the two countries are, despite their political differences, the spokesman said, adding that Turkey is prepared to help Greece if needed.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin offered government support to the two affected countries. “France stands alongside the Turkish and Greek peoples to face this terrible ordeal,” Mr Darmanin wrote on Twitter.
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“If the governments of these countries so wish, French aid can be immediately dispatched on the spot.”