KOS: A strong 6.7-magnitude undersea quake hit the Greek holiday island of Kos and the Turkish resort of Bodrum on Friday, killing two people and injuring dozens in areas abuzz with nightlife.

The epicentre of the quake was about 10 kilometres south of Bodrum, a magnet for holidaymakers, and 16 kilometres east of Kos, the US Geological Survey said.

“(There was) this loud rumbling noise and we all ran out... my four friends fell to the ground due to the place shaking so much,” 18-year-old Briton Harriet Longley said.

“We all crawled out and managed to get down the stairs where the other guests were screaming.

“We were thinking of leaving but the aftershocks are not as bad now so (I) think we are going to stay for now. If anything else happens we’ll be leaving,” she said.

Police said a 22-year-old Swede and a 39-year-old Turk died in an area full of cafes and nightclubs in Kos. Another man from Sweden has apparently lost his legs.

They were found on the street, crushed either by the collapsed wall of a bar or by stones that fell from old houses nearby. About 120 people were hurt in Kos and nearly 80 in Bodrum, many of them after jumping out of windows, officials and media reports said. Seven people who were badly hurt — including the Swedish amputee — were flown to hospitals in Athens and Crete.

Television footage showed gutted stone buildings and island streets filled with rubble. The quake, followed by a wave of aftershocks, also damaged an 18th century Ottoman mosque and cracked the dock in the port of Kos, which has been shut down. A small tsunami sent fishing boats crashing into Kos harbour and damaged cars in the resort of Gumbet outside Bodrum.

With Kos airport also temporarily shut down for safety tests, hundreds were forced to queue as several early morning flights were cancelled or delayed.

The airport is now operating at full capacity, German handling company Fraport said.Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said damage elsewhere was minimal.

“Things on the island seem to be under full control and normality has returned,” he told state television ERT.

“The airport is operational and the roads are in good shape... there is no major damage to infrastructure or buildings.” Kos attracts young tourists and during peak season has a capacity of around 100,000 beds, a local police official said, adding that more than 85 percent were currently booked.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017