The Mount Parnitha fault line that was responsible for the deadly 5.9 Richter earthquake in Athens in 1999 is unlikely to strike again with the same strength despite its continuing seismic activity, a leading seismologist said yesterday.

“The Parnitha fault line does not have the strength to cause another large earthquake,” said Costas Makropoulos, the president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP).

Makropoulos was talking to journalists on the sidelines of a meeting held to discuss the impact of the Athens quake, which killed 143 people in September 1999.

The OASP president added that experts are now keeping a closer eye on fault lines in Thebes, central Greece, and Oropos, north of Athens. The two seismic hot spots have caused earthquakes in the past and are considered capable of resulting in much larger tremors.