Some 52,000 tourists were on Kos island when a quake struck, but local officials say only five per cent have said they want to leave
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As the Greek island of Kos continues to assess the impact of Friday’s 6.7 undersea quake, holidaymakers caught up in the panic have been recounting what happened .
Kos and Bodrum in Turkey were hardest hit.
A tourist from Australia, Damon Baderas, told Euronews: “The ground shook. People started screaming. Everything started falling apart. I have never experienced something like that before. I am an Australian but it was very scary.”
Some 52,000 tourists were on the island when the quake struck, but local officials say only five per cent have said they want to leave.
Tourist Penny Adam told Euronews: “We left and we went to a farm area that was flat and there were no buildings around so we could feel a little bit safer and now we feel a little bit safer to come back into the town.
“The tremors had stopped a little bit, they are not as frequent. They are not happening often and we could come back down and just continue our holidays.”
The Kos hotelliers association says only five percent of the reservations for the coming weeks have been cancelled after the quake.
Euronews correspondent Michalis Arampatzoglou reported: “1.5 million tourists visit Kos every year. After the strong quake at the height of the tourism season, the future for the local economy is uncertain.
“But as business representatives point out, the problems at the moment are not serious, with the repair process already underway.