ATHENS: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 shook Greece’s largest island, Crete, on Monday morning, killing one person and injuring several, authorities said.
The tremor sent people fleeing out of homes, schools and public buildings across the island. Damage was reported to many old buildings close to the epicentre, in the east of the island.
The Greek infrastructure ministry said it had sent a group of civil engineers to assess the structural damage and assist in relief efforts.
A man died when the dome of a small chapel in the town of Arkalochori, some 30 km (20 miles) outside Crete’s main city Heraklion, caved in during renovation works, a police official said. The church was largely reduced to rubble.
Civil protection authorities said nine people were injured in the quake, which damaged mainly old, unοccupied buildings in the wider Arkalochori region.
