2 strong tremors strike off Greek island of Crete

By DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two tremors with a magnitude of 5.2 and 5.4, respectively, have jolted Greece’s southern islands, but no damage or casualties have been reported so far. The first tremor, a 5.2-magnitude, struck at 5:15 p.m. (1515 GMT) east of the island of Crete and at a depth of 9 kilometers (5.6 miles), the Institute of Geodynamics reported in Athens. An even larger tremor of 5.4 magnitude struck at 8:59 p.m. local (1859 GMT) about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northwest of the first, at a depth of 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles), the Institute of Geodynamics reported. Greece sees frequent earthquakes, since it lies close to a meeting point between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.