- A powerful magnitude-6.7 earthquake has struck off the coast of Bodrum, SW Turkey, triggering a tsunami
- At least two people were killed on the nearby Greek holiday island of Kos when a bar ceiling collapsed
- Tsunami waves flooded beachfront hotels along the Aegean coast with Bodrum and Marmaris worst affected
- Parts of a Kos mosque collapsed into the town square, while the tremors were also felt on Crete and Rhodes
- Rescuers were this morning urgently searching for any more victims trapped under rubble with dozens hurt
- Collapsed pylons in Bodrum sparked huge electrical fires while power was out across much of the region
- Tourists told how their hotels were 'shaking like a jelly' before the tsunami sent people fleeing low ground
At least two people are dead and dozens more injured after a powerful earthquake struck off the Turkish coast, triggering a tsunami in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and destroying buildings across the area.
The epicentre of the magnitude 6.7 quake was off Bodrum, southwest Turkey, with the country's Aegean coast and Greek holiday islands including Kos and Rhodes worst affected.
Tourists fled in terror for higher ground as tsunami waves surged through beachfront resorts, deluging hotels and bars.
The two fatalities were reported on the island of Kos, with the victims crushed under a collapsed bar ceiling. Parts of a historic mosque in Kos Town also collapsed into the street and rescuers were this morning sifting through rubble looking for trapped survivors. The island's mayor said many people were hurt.
Eyewitnesses posted videos of staff and patients at Bodrum State Hospital cowering for cover, while the devastation caused a large electrical fire to break out in the city after a power pylon came crashing to the ground.
Tourists were forced to flee their rooms when the quake hit at 1.31am local time (11.31pm BST). They gathered anxiously in the street, and now face a sleepless night by the roadside or on beaches after they were warned not to re-enter damaged hotels.
Tourists were forced to flee their rooms when the quake hit at 1.31am local time (11.31pm BST). They gathered anxiously in the street, and now face a sleepless night by the roadside or on beaches after they were warned not to re-enter damaged hotels.
Kristian Stevens, from Nelson in Lancashire said he felt the building he was in 'shake like a jelly'. The 48-year-old said he had just gone to bed when the quake struck at around 1.30am local time.
He said: 'It was quite surreal as I had just laid down in bed and the whole building shook. The whole building shook like a jelly.
'Many of the locals rushed out into the streets still in underwear. Some have been seen with blankets and pillows not sure if it is safe to return home.'
Sophie Wild said she ran from her third floor accommodation when she woke to a loud banging noise.
The 21-year-old from Canterbury in Kent is coming to the end of her holiday in Altinkum, around 500 miles away from Bodrum.
She said: 'We were asleep and were awoken by what sounded like banging on our door, it got louder and louder and the building started shaking. We jumped up ran to the balcony to see what it was (my first thought when we heard the banging was that we were being attacked).
'When we realised it was an earthquake, we got an immediate sense to get out, we thought the building was going to crumble around us. We ran down our stairs [from the third floor].
'People were running out of rooms, banging on people's doors to make sure they were out. Everyone just ran outside and waited for a couple of hours - it's only now that people are starting to go back to their rooms. There are a few cracks in the walls but otherwise staff says it's safe.'
Local authorities ordered holidaymakers not to enter hotels due to likely aftershocks, with more than five quakes hitting the area around Turkey in just two hours.
The tremor struck at 1.31 am local time (11.31pm BST) approximately 6.4 miles south of Bodrum and 10 miles east of Kos.
Kos Mayor Giorgos Kyritsis told state-run Greek media that buildings on the island sustained structural damage in the quake that struck early Friday morning.
The coast guard also announced the island's port was damaged in the quake and that a ferry en route there was not docking.
Former footballer Kevin McNaughton said he felt the quake as far away as Dalaman, around 120 miles from Bodrum.
At least a dozen aftershocks hit the area in the two hours after the main earthquake, the biggest being magnitude 5.4.
The tsunami waves hit minutes after the main quake. The sea level in Bodrum dropped by almost a foot before water surges back in two powerful waves, cascading through the resorts and flooding buildings. Footage showed cars lifted up and carried away by the torrents.
Firefighters are battling large wildfires across different countries of southern Europe.
Dry hot weather and strong winds have caused fires to spread and forced evacuations in France, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, among others.
Firefighters are battling wildfires since 3 days in CROATIA. They were able to control a forest fire along the Adriatic coast that has damaged and destroyed buildings in villages around the city of Split, reaching the Split suburbs late Monday.
Croatian TV reported that the blaze near the key port and tourist center of Split has reached houses in some parts of the city, with residents joining firefighters in efforts to contain the flames. Some parts of the city were without water or electricity.
The blaze, which started shortly after midnight, has spread across 20 km and first threatened the villages of Srinjine, Sitno Gornje and Sitno Donje. Scenes in Srinjinje, Gornje Sitno, and Donje Sitno and Žrnovnica have been described as ‘apocalyptic’, with a number of houses burnt down already in Žrnovnica.
Wildfire rages near coastal Luštica in Montenegro as country asks for help
MONTENEGRO has asked for international help to fight wildfires raging along its Adriatic coastline, forcing the evacuation of dozens of tourists and campers.
According to officials, the situation at Lustica is critical. The interior ministry of Montenegro asked for the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism to be activated to help extinguish the fire. Mayors of the threatened coastal towns of Kotor, Tivat, and Herceg Novi urged the government to ask neighboring nations – Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia – to send fire-extinguishing aircraft. Well, it will be hard for Croatia to help as their coastline is also on fire.
Wildfire burns near coastal Nice in France
Hundreds of firefighters are working to extinguish a forest fire about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the French Riviera city of Nice, as unusually hot and dry weather has hit much of FRANCE.
Jean-Gabriel Delacroy of the Alpes-Maritime regional administration said Tuesday that the fire near Nice is “under control” but not yet over after breaking out Monday night.
Three firefighters were lightly injured in the blaze, which consumed 120 hectares (about 300 acres) of forest and reached the town of Castagniers, inland from Nice. No homes have been hurt so far. Fires in recent days have also hit Provence and Corsica.
Portugal hit again by devastating wildfires
The Continent got a taste of what was to come last month, when a blaze tore through central Portugal, leaving more than 60 people dead.
Italy is burning down
Officials reported nearly 900 wildfires in ITALY on Monday, with people evacuated from residential as well as touristy parts of Rome and Naples, and around Mount Vesuvius, near Naples.
On Monday, firefighters extinguished a wildfire that destroyed a vast portion of the Castelfusano pine forest near the coast south of Rome, and the authorities arrested a man suspected of arson.
Thousands of acres of pine forests, national parks, fields and pastures have burned in central and southern Italy in recent weeks.
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