Seven killed as huge storm rips through Greek resorts

Seven people including two children were killed when a powerful storm tore through northern Greece.

The force of the wind ripped up trees and power pylons, overturned vehicles and left swathes of debris across the Halkidiki peninsula on Wednesday night.

Around 140 people were injured, according to police. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said 23 people remained in hospital yesterday.

Six of the dead were tourists – two each from Russia, the Czech Republic and Romania, Mr Petsas said. A seventh body, found at sea, is thought to be that of a missing 62-year-old fisherman.

A state of emergency was declared in the region – a threefinger peninsula near the city of Thessaloniki which is packed with visitors in the summer.

Andy Gilchrist, 48, from Bangor in northern Ireland, was having dessert with his wife Katie, 43, and daughter Grace, 9, at the five-star Ikos Oceania hotel on Wednesday when they noticed lighting in the distance.

But within moments Mr Gilchrist said the winds had hit gale-force, sending staff and guests scrambling for safety as heavy glass window panes were ‘picked up like napkins’.

He said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it, not even close. You wouldn’t have stood a chance if you were out in it.

‘If you’d been on the balcony, you’d have been 60 miles away by the time it finished.’