Strong earthquake jolts Athens

A strong earthquake sparked limited power cuts and communication problems in Athens.

Athens: A strong earthquake hits near the Greek capital of Athens on Friday, causing residents to run into the streets in fear and firefighters to check for people trapped in elevators.

The Athens Institute of Geodynamics gave the earthquake a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 but the US Geological Survey gave it a preliminary magnitude of 5.3.

The Athens Institute says the quake struck at 2:13 p.m. local time (1113 GMT) about 26 kilometres (13.7 miles) north of Athens.

The quake sparked limited power cuts and communication problems around Athens and the fire brigade reportedly receiving calls about people being trapped in elevators.

The Civil Protection Authority said that there was no immediate word on injuries or damages, but that police and volunteers north of the capital were carried out searches for possible damage.

The most powerful quake to hit the Greek capital in the last 20 years came in 1999 when a temblor of magnitude 6.0 caused extensive damage and killed more than 140 people.

Gerasimos Papadopoulos, the senior seismologist at the Geodynamics Institute said Friday's quake was felt across southern Greece.