Greece: Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes off shore of Crete

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake has been registered off the shore of the Greek island of Crete, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said.

The tremor was recorded at 16:28 GMT, with the epicentre of the earthquake located 55 kilometres (34 miles) of the city of Heraklion at a depth of 60 kilometres.

No tsunami alert has been declared. There are no reports about any damages or victims caused by the earthquake.

Greece lies in a seismologically active region as the Mediterranean Sea is a border between the African and Eurasian plates. The movement of the African plate to the north - where the Eurasian plate lies - sometimes causes earthquakes and has already resulted in the formation of several mountain ranges in Europe, including the Alps.

The seismic activity in Greece resulted in the so-called Late Bronze Age eruption of the Santorini volcano in the 2nd millennium BC, which triggered huge tsunami waves and caused the decline of the Minoan civilization.

(ANI/Sputnik)

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