One dead after powerful quake shakes Turkey and Greece

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos yesterday.

The initial quake struck at 3.28pm local time and was followed by two aftershocks minutes later.

One woman died in the quake, which rattled buildings from the Aegean Turkish province of Izmir to the Greek capital Athens.

The epicentre of the quake was about 84km (52 miles) northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Izmir and 15km south of Lesbos, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The National Observatory of Athens put it slightly lower at 6.1.

Extensive damage was reported at a village on Lesbos.

"Tens of buildings have collapsed and roads are blocked off," said Marios Apostolides, the divisional commander of the fire brigade.

A woman was crushed by the roof of her home and died, the island's mayor said.

Local officials said at least 10 people were injured.

Aftershocks

Major geological fault lines cross the region and small earthquakes are common, though anything higher than 5.5 is rare.

Anything exceeding that is capable of causing extensive damage.

"We will be seeing the aftershocks of this in the coming hours, days and weeks," said Haluk Ozener, head of Turkey's Kandilli Observatory, adding that the aftershocks could have magnitudes of up to 5.5.

More than 600 people died in October 2011 in Turkey's eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude and powerful aftershocks.

In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in the densely populated northwest of the country.