A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit off the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini early on Thursday morning, the US Geological Survey said, with reports of the tremor felt across the Mediterranean even in Malta.
The strong quake struck 82 kilometres (51 miles) northeast of Crete’s capital Heraklion, at a depth of 68 kilometres, the USGS said.
The tremor was recorded on the University of Malta’s Seismic Monitoring services and felt by many people across Malta with reports coming in from Sliema, Marsascala and Bugibba.
AFP reported that the popular holiday region has been rattled by multiple tremors in recent months, prompting schools in Santorini and neighbouring islands to close temporarily.
Thousands of earthquakes, mainly of low magnitude, were recorded from late January between the islands of Santorini, Amorgos, Ios and Anafi in the Cyclades group southeast of the Greek mainland.
The seismic swarm caused no casualties or significant damage.
Located where the African and Anatolian tectonic plates converge, the Aegean Sea is often hit by quakes.
But the region had not experienced a phenomenon of such magnitude since records began in 1964, experts said.