Earthquake rocks Greece and Turkey: Two dead on Kos as hundreds of tourists hurt amid tsunami

• Earthquake hits off coast of Greek islands and Turkey

• Two tourists killed on Kos and more than 200 injured

• Another 360 hurt in Turkish resort of Bodrum

• 6.7-magnitude quake triggers small tsunami

• Panic as building crashes down on tourists in bar

• Others jump from balconies and run for their lives

• Tens of thousands flee hotels and sleep in streets

• 'We were all screaming': Tourists describe night of chaos

At least two tourists have been killed and more than 500 others injured after a powerful earthquake shook the Greek Islands and Turkish coast, triggering a small tsunami.

The 6.7-magnitude quake struck in the Aegean Sea on Thursday night south of the Turkish city of Bodrum and east of the small Greek island of Kos - both areas popular with British holidaymakers.

It sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar in the Old Town of the main port on Kos, killing two men - a 27-year-old from Sweden and a 39-year-old from Turkey - and injuring scores of others in scenes of panic.

Other holidaymakers were injured when they lept to safety from balconies of other buildings. Greek health officials said 13 people were flown to hospitals in Athens and on the islands of Rhodes and Crete.

The earthquake triggered a small tsunami that brought two-foot tidal waves that caused flooding in Bodrum and parts of Kos, which took the brunt of the impact with significant damage to buildings.

Tourists were forced to flee their hotels when the quake hit at around 1.30am local time on Friday (10.31pm GMT Thursday) and experienced more than 20 aftershocks throughout the night.

The effects of the quake were felt by people miles away from the epicentre. Many ran from their homes or holiday apartments with pillows and blankets.

Tens of thousands of holidaymakers spent the night outdoors on Kos, with many sleeping on sunbeds along beaches and in squares.

More than 200 people were injured on Kos. Some had been trapped when buildings collapsed. Many suffered broken bones, with a number in a serious condition. Police said the injured including tourists of various nationalities.

The Turkish health minister said that almost 360 people were hurt in the resort of Bodrum.

Of the victims in Bodrum, 25 remained in hospital on Friday morning. Some had broken bones, but the health minister said there were no serious injuries.

Among those who felt the earthquake on Kos was British student Naomi Ruddock, who is on holiday with her mother.

"We were asleep and we just felt the room shaking," she said. "The room moved. Literally everything was moving.

"And it kind of felt like you were on a boat and it was swaying really fast from side to side - you felt seasick."

Tourists leap from balconies as buildings collapse

Hundreds of revelers were in or near the popular White Corner Club in the old town of Kos when the building partially collapsed.

At least five other people were seriously injured on Kos as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies.

The quake damaged churches, an old mosque, and the port's 14th century castle, along with old buildings in the town.

In nearby Turkey, the quake caused cracks on walls of some buildings in the resort of Bodrum, flooded the lower floors of sea-front hotels and restaurants and sent moored boats crashing toward the shore.

Wide cracks in quayside near tourist strip

Images show long, wide cracks in the asphalt on the quayside at the port of Kos, which is near a tourist strip of cafes and bars.

Kos airport remained operational and Greek Deputy Shipping Minister Nektarios Santorinios flew there. But he said the port was out of action.

"Passengers on ferries have been rerouted to the islands of Nisyros and Kalymnos," he told Greek SKAI TV.

Kos mayor: There are not many old buildings left

A wall collapsed on a building dating to the 1930s and it crushed people who were at the bar in the building's lower level. 

Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis said: "There are not many old buildings left on Kos. Nearly all the structures on the island have been built under the new codes to withstand earthquakes," the mayor said.

The Kos hospital said at least 20 of the injured had broken bones.

Rescuers were checking for trapped people inside houses after the quake struck in the middle of the night. Kyritsis said the army was mobilised along with emergency services.

Authorities had warned of a localised tsunami, and witnesses described a "swelling" of the sea after the earthquake.

The island's port was among structures that sustained damaged and a seafront road and parts of the island's main town were flooded.

Tourists sleep in streets after abandoning hotels

In the Turkish city of Marmaris, beachfront hotels were flooded. Elsewhere, holidaymakers cowered for shelter and in some resorts they abandoned their rooms for safety, gathering in the street.

Two strong aftershocks followed. Hotel guests briefly went back to their rooms to collect their belongings.

But they opted to spend the night in the open air, using sheets and cushions borrowed from nearby lounge chairs to build makeshift beds.

Such was the force of the earthquake its impact was felt as far away as Rhodes and Crete.

"Felt it here (in Rhodes) too. Pretty strong. Looked out the window to see the waves in the pool," Daniel Markham, a councillor on Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council in Kent, tweeted.

Shallow quake was only 6.2 miles below seabed

The quake, which was felt across the Aegean coast, was very shallow - only 6.2 miles below the seabed, the US Geological Survey said. 

A seismologist told Greek television that there had been a tidal wave about 28 inches (70 cm) high.

'The light was swinging... crockery falling out of cupboards'

Christopher Hackland, a Scottish diving instructor, told of the moment the earthquake struck.

"There was banging," he said. "There was shaking. The light was swinging, banging on the ceiling, crockery falling out of the cupboards, and pans were making noise.

"There was a lot of screaming and crying and hysterics coming from the hotel. It felt like being at a theme park with one of the illusions, an optical illusion where you feel like you're upside down."

'There was first a noise and then a roar... my boat was dragged to the shore'

Boat captain Metin Kestaneci, 40, told how he was asleep on his vessel when the quake hit.

"There was first a noise and then a roar. Before I could ask 'what's happening?' my boat was dragged toward the shore. We found ourselves on the shore," Kestaneci said. "I've never experienced such a thing."

Britons tell of fear at being woken by quake

A number of Britons have spoken of their fear when they felt tremors as the quake struck.

Lauren Duffy, from Merseyside, said glass and broken pieces of marble statues were among the debris strewn near her hotel in the wake of the earthquake.

The University of Chester student, who is staying at the Atlantis Hotel in Lambi, a short drive from Kos Town which is believed to have been worst affected, spent the night outside with fellow guests as aftershocks continued to rock the island.

The 20-year-old, who is on holiday with her mother and sister, said: "We were woken up by really aggressive shaking.

"We didn't know what it was. You couldn't find your balance. It was just a scary situation."

The trio are due to leave Kos on Sunday, but said: "I think if the option came up to fly home early I think we would accept it at this stage."

Tourist: Whole building 'shook like jelly'

Kristian Stevens, from Nelson in Lancashire, said he felt the building he was in "shake like a jelly". The 48-year-old had just gone to bed when the quake struck.

He said: "It was quite surreal as I had just laid down in bed and the whole building shook. The whole building shook like a jelly.

"Many of the locals rushed out into the streets still in underwear. Some have been seen with blankets and pillows not sure if it is safe to return home."

Sophie Wild said she ran from her third-floor accommodation when she woke to a loud banging noise.

The 21-year-old from Canterbury in Kent is coming to the end of her holiday in Altinkum, around 500 miles away from Bodrum.

She said: "We were asleep and were awoken by what sounded like banging on our door, it got louder and louder and the building started shaking. We jumped up ran to the balcony to see what it was (my first thought when we heard the banging was that we were being attacked).

"When we realised it was an earthquake, we got an immediate sense to get out, we thought the building was going to crumble around us. We ran down our stairs."

'The room moved... it felt like you were on a boat'

Naomi Ruddock, who is on holiday in Kos with her mother Eleanor, said she felt like she was on a boat in choppy water when the earthquake hit.

The 22-year-old, who is due to graduate from Brighton University next week, said they were woken from their sleep when the room shook.

She said: "We were asleep and we just felt the room shaking. The room moved. Literally everything was moving. And it kind of felt like you were on a boat and it was swaying really fast from side to side, you felt seasick."

The pair ran from their ground floor room in the Akti Palace Hotel in Kardamena, around a 30 minute drive from Kos Town which is thought to have been worst hit.

Ms Ruddock, from London, added: "The restaurant manager just said that he's never seen anything like this ever happen ever around this area or ever in Greece. He said it was like something out of a film, and it was."

London student tells of  'surreal nightmarish experience'

London student Georgie Jamieson, who was holidaying in Kos with her family, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're all a bit shaken up. We had been having a lovely evening down in the hotel and got up to our room an hour before it struck.

"We were literally dozing off when the first tremor struck. From then on it was a bit of a surreal nightmarish experience.

"I was semi-conscious. At first I panicked and I was a bit fear-struck, but then slowly trying to process what was happening.

"Everything was shaking really vigorously. I've never felt anything like it before. Almost as if the ground was going to cave in."

Georgie said she went to check on her sisters, and they were initially unsure whether it was safer to leave the hotel room or stay.

"We ran to the door to check there was nothing outside that had been visibly damaged," she said.

"When we saw that that was all clear, we were coming to terms with the fact that we were experiencing an earthquake and we grabbed our stuff and made a run away from the building."

Hotel owners try to calm thousands of tourists

Constantina Svynou, head of the hoteliers' association in Kos, told Greek ERT television that many visitors had spent the night outside their hotels, but some were now returning to their rooms.

"There are about 200,000 tourists on the island, we are at the peak season," he said. "Our first reaction was to calm the tourists, following basic rules and evacuating hotel buildings."

Hotel owners in Bodrum told Turkish broadcasters that some tourists were checking out.

"It was a lucky escape and it could have been much worse," said Issa Kamara, a 38-year old personal trainer at the Maca Kizi hotel in Bodrum's smart Turkbuku area.

Video: Flooded streets in Bodrum after tsunami

Foreign Office advice to Britons near quake

The Foreign Office advised Britons in surrounding areas to follow the advice of local authorities and tour operators.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are speaking to the Turkish and Greek authorities following an earthquake off the coast of Bodrum and near the island of Kos.

"Any British people in the areas affected should follow the instructions of local authorities." 

Are earthquakes common in this region?

Turkey's location between the Arabian tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate renders it prone to earthquakes.

In October 2011, more than 600 people died in the eastern province of Van following a 7.2-magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks.

In 1999, two massive earthquakes killed about 20,000 people in Turkey's densely populated northwest. The same year, a 5.9 magnitude quake killed 143 people in Greece.

How are earthquakes categorised?

How you can stay safe in an earthquake

If you ever are unlucky enough to be affected by an earthquake,  here is what you should do to stay safe.