Dutch tourists woken by massive earthquake that hit Turkey, Greece
A massive earthquake with a force of 6.7 on the Richter scale hit the southwestern coast of Turkey around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, local time. The epicenter of the quake was 10 kilometers form the coast of tourist resort Bodrum. Nearby Greek island Kos was also hit hard. Many Dutch tourists are on summer holiday at these locations, NU.nl reports.
Two people were killed when the roof of a bar collapsed in the city of Kos. At least 120 others were injured on the island, according to local authorities. The Greek fire department rescued three seriously injured people from a collapsed building.
Bodrum also sustained damage, but at the moment it seems to be not as serious as it could be, according to the local mayor. Some people sustained minor injuries and the damage to buildings is being investigated. The quake also caused a small tsunami, which left many buildings and streets flooded at the resort. Many places lost power.
On Friday morning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not say whether any Dutch were injured. The Ministry is in contact with the local authorities to try and find out. Dutch travel organization TUI is also looking into it.
"We were shocked awake and it felt like a number of freight trains were driving through our rooms", Dutch man Sander, on holiday with his wife on Kos, said to NOS. They spent the night in the hotel's parking lot. "Some parts of the building are so badly damaged, that I do not expect we can get back into our rooms."
Anna, 19, was in an island bar when the earthquake hit. "It looked like it was collapsing", she said to the broadcaster. Everyone ran into the street in a panic. With a stream of other tourists, the young Dutch woman walked back to her hotel. But due to the risk of severe aftershocks, the tourists had to stay outside.
"We sat on sun-beds next to the pool", Dutch woman Marianne said to NOS. She, her girlfriend and two children spent the night in the open air. "There was damage to the hotel and another aftershock was expected."
