Two Die As Quake Shakes Greece

An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude rattled vast swaths of Greece yesterday, leaving at least two dead, injuring scores, and damaging hundreds of buildings in the southern Peloponnese.

The quake, described as the most powerful in modern Greek history and felt as far away as Italy, prompted thousands of villagers to flee their homes in panic.

"It's not only that it was very strong, it lasted a very long time," an elderly villager told local television soon after the quake struck in mid-afternoon. "I was taking a siesta, but when I got out of bed I immediately fell. It was so powerful I couldn't stand on my feet."

"It was terrible," the mayor of Pyrgos, Makis Paraskevopoulos, told the state television service. "We have never lived through something like this before. It was as if the town was being flattened."

By nightfall rescue services had safely evacuated at least two extended families, including children, who were trapped in the rubble of their homes.

Such was the force of the quake that some Greeks, fearing for their lives, jumped from the balconies of their houses, hospital staff said.

The interior minister, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said one man died instantly when the roof of his house caved in on him in the town of Kato Ahaia, near the quake's epicentre south of the western port city of Patras. A woman taken to hospital with injuries died later from a heart attack.

The mayor of ancient Olympia, Yiannis Aedonis, said that although the earth shook violently for several minutes, the sanctuary's antiquities were unscathed.

Seismologists warned of dangerous aftershocks and thousands of Greeks were last night advised to stay outdoors for the meantime, as local authorities prepared emergency measures.