(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, SEP 27 - A strong earthquake struck the
Greek island of Crete early Monday, killing a man who was
working in a church that collapsed and injuring nine others, the
civil protection agency said. The quake, measuring magnitude 5.8
according to the National Observatory of Athens, struck at 0617
GMT, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Heraklion, the capital of
Greece's largest island. The quake sent panicked residents
rushing into the streets and damaged old buildings. The man died
in the farming town of Arkalochori which was particularly badly
hit, said Spiros Georgiou, spokesman for the civil protection
agency. He said nine people were slightly injured. Images on ERT
public television showed old buildings that had collapsed in
Arkalochori and surrounding villages near Heraklion. "It's an
earthquake that we did not expect, for the moment there are
aftershocks of 4.5", said seismologist Efthymis Lekkas, quoted
by the ANA news agency. The minister for civil protection
Christos Stylianides, accompanied by Lekkas and other experts
were to visit the site later Monday, ERT said. (ANSA-AFP).
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