Breaking: Many scamper for safety as Earthquake strikes Greece capital

A strong earthquake shook the Greek capital of Athens on Wednesday afternoon.

The quake hit at 2.13pm local time near the town of Magoúla, 14 miles north of Athens with a magnitude at least 5.1. Many Greek outlets gave a reading of 5.3.

Those caught up in the quake described it as powerful and prolonged, with some running out into the streets in order to avoid buildings collapsing on them. 

Telecommunication networks were knocked out by the tremor, while power was also cut to some parts of the Greek capital, the BBC reported.

Others likened it to the 1999 earthquake which struck Athens and measured 6 on the Richter scale.

In total, 143 people died in that earthquake – most of whom were crushed by buildings which collapsed.

Another 1,600 had to be treated for injuries while the cost of the damage was estimated at more than $4billion. 

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