saying it had sailed from Turkey." The ship is sailing very slowly off Karpathos island, carrying

A strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday, two weeks and a day after another temblor killed a man and damaged hundreds of buildings. The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the undersea earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at 12: 24 p.m. local time( 9: 24 a.m. GMT) off the island’s eastern coast.It was felt as far as the coast of Turkey and on Cyprus, more than 500 kilometres( 310 miles) to the east, authorities said. Magnitude 4.1 and 4.6 quakes that

Three moderate earthquakes have hit Crete on Boxing Day, with tremors also felt in other southern Greek islands.... The first-which had a magnitude of 5.2-took place on Sunday afternoon, with the second-which had a slightly greater magnitude of 5.4-striking just before 7pm local time.... Crete was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.3 in October, as well as a tremor with a magnitude of 6.0 the month before-which killed a man and injured at least 20 others....

The earthquake's epicentre is believed to be close to the island of Faliraki-which has been a favourite among heavy-drinking British holidaymakers for decades.... Initial estimates put its magnitude at between 5.8 and 6.4 on the Richter scale.It is unclear whether it has caused any injuries, but the force was reportedly felt in Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Israel. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre( ESMC) posted on Twitter:" This M6.4# earthquake was felt in Eastern Mediterranean Sea,

The whole house shook side to side by at least 15 centimetres.... It lasted about 20 seconds.'" According to the agency, the quake was at a depth of 6.2 miles. Prominent seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos said the island had also been struck by a tsunami following the huge quake.... Appealing for people to evacuate its coastal areas, he said:" A small tsunami is underway in southern Crete....