Tourists hit by quake in Kos and Turkey
THOUSANDS of British tourists have been warned they face days of aftershocks after a terrifying earthquake in Greece and Turkey.
Two people died and nearly 500 were injured when the 6.7-magnitude quake struck in the Aegean Sea, between the Greek island of Kos and the Turkish coastal resort of Bodrum.
A handful of Britons were hurt. Many feared for their lives as they were woken by their hotel rooms shaking in the early hours of yesterday. Kristian Stevens, 48, of Nelson, Lancashire, said: ‘The whole building shook like a jelly.’
Student Naomi Ruddock, 22, on Kos with her mother Eleanor, said they fled after their room’s walls and ceiling
‘Worried the ceiling was coming down’
shook. She said: ‘Literally everything was moving. It felt like you were on a boat and it was swaying really fast from side to side.’ Mrs Ruddock, of southwest London, added: ‘I was really worried the ceiling was coming down.’
Sheila and Derek Wiley, of Bristol, were in Bodrum, where they have a holiday home. Mrs Wiley, 76, said: ‘It was really frightening. We woke up in the middle of the night to the whole room shaking … I was screaming.’
Civil servant Karen Davies said she carried parents Barry, 72, and Linda, 70, down two flights of stairs from an apartment in Bodrum. The 38-year-old, of Esher, Surrey, said: ‘People outside were screaming for us to come downstairs.’
Some slept on sun loungers and outside Kos airport after fleeing hotels. The airport was closed for safety checks, causing major delays. Some tourists said they were told there were no flights, leaving them ‘stranded’.
Aftershocks registered as high as 4.6 on the Richter scale. Seismic activity monitors warned more were likely and could last up to two weeks. In Bodrum, the quake triggered tsunami waves. But Kos appeared to have suffered the worst damage, including the partial collapse of a mosque.
Two men, one Swedish and one Turkish, died when a roof collapsed in a Kos bar. Many of the injuries were suffered by people who jumped from windows.
Officials said there were about 10,000 British tourists on Kos. The Foreign Office said those worried about travel disruption should contact their tour operator.