A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the waters north of the Greek island of Rhodes at 02:17 local time on Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old girl and injuring 69 people in Turkey whilst causing no reported damage or injuries in Greece.
The Geodynamic Institute’s revised analysis placed the epicentre 21 kilometres north of Rhodes at a focal depth of 64.9 kilometres.
The earthquake was felt across the Dodecanese islands, with the emergency 112 service immediately sending alerts to thousands of island residents and tourists.
Few people took to the streets despite feeling the tremor, according to local reports. The Rhodes Fire Service and civil protection teams from the Municipality of Rhodes and South Aegean Region were placed on heightened alert following the earthquake.
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Institute calculated the earthquake at magnitude 6.0 with an epicentre 19 kilometres north of Rhodes. Earlier automatic readings from the Geodynamic Institute had estimated the tremor at 5.7 magnitude, located 26 kilometres north-northeast of Rhodes with a focal depth of 40 kilometres.
“This is an earthquake whose main characteristic is its depth. At a depth of 60 kilometres, whilst it was felt across a wider area of the Dodecanese and Turkey, it will not have significant surface impacts, will not cause a tsunami and crucially will not produce a rich aftershock sequence,” Professor Efthymios Lekkas, geology professor and president of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation said.
He emphasised that the depth likely made this the main earthquake event. “It was an intense seismic event for Rhodes residents and surrounding areas, but beyond that we will not see anything particular,” he added.
The earthquake was felt across southwestern Turkey, where it caused one death and dozens of injuries. According to Turkey’s Interior Ministry, a 14-year-old girl died after “suffering a panic attack” and being “taken to hospital”, where “unfortunately, despite all the doctors’ efforts” she lost her life.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said via X that 69 other people sustained injuries due to the earthquake, which struck in the sea area off the city of Marmaris, between Turkey and Rhodes.
Most of the injured jumped from height because they were seized by panic due to the strong earthquake, the minister clarified.
(information from protothema.gr)
