Engineers conducting safety checks after quake in northern Aegean
Dozens of aftershocks rattled the northern Aegean islands of Lemnos and Samothraki yesterday following Saturday’s strong undersea quake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, which led to a British tourist being injured on Lemnos and dozens of injuries in western Turkey.
The epicenters of the aftershocks ranged from Halkidiki in northern Greece to the Dardanelles, a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey. The epicenter of the quake itself, which struck just before 12.30 p.m. on Saturday, was located in the undersea area between Lemnos and Samothraki and close to the island of Gokceada, off Turkey’s western coast.
A British tourist was bruised at the main airport of Lemnos when she was hit by falling plaster from the ceiling. On Lemnos, 11 old buildings were said to have collapsed and another 13 buildings and two churches suffered structural damage, while the damage on Samothrace was less extensive. State engineers were dispatched to the islands following a visit by Interior Minister Yiannis Michelakis on Saturday.
The impact of the quake in Turkey was far stronger, with local television broadcasts showing images of people fleeing their homes on the island of Gokceada and in Istanbul. More than 200 people were said to have suffered injuries, many after leaping from the balconies of their homes in panic.
