Strong earthquake rocks Greek island, felt in Egypt

Strong earthquake rocks Greek island, felt in Egypt

2011-04-01 21:41:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

CRETE, GREECE (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the Greek island of Crete on late Friday afternoon, seismologists said, damaging some homes but causing no casualties.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake at 4.29 p.m. local time (1329 GMT) was centered about 138 kilometers (85 miles) east of the city of Heraklion on Crete, or about 51 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Palaíkastron. It struck about 60 kilometers (37 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the National Observatory of Athens.

Witnesses said the earthquake was felt throughout southern Greece and as far away as Athens and Cairo, the Egyptian capital. The Ta Nea newspaper reported that some houses in Kassos, Karpathos and Rhodes sustained minor damage, but there were no reports of casualties.

No tsunami warnings were issued.

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