Bodrum [Turkey] - Desperate tourists are fleeing from
Turkish and Greek resorts today after cutting short their holidays following a
killer earthquake amid claims some travel reps have been telling people to
sleep on sun loungers.
Huge crowds were seen at Kos International Airport as
holidaymakers attempted to leave the Greek island with many resorting to lying
on the ground with their luggage outside the terminal.
Two people were killed and 500 more injured after the
powerful earthquake struck off the Turkish coast overnight, triggering a
tsunami that hit resorts in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and damaged
buildings across the region.
The epicentre of the magnitude-6.7 quake was off Bodrum,
southwest Turkey, with the country's Aegean coast and Greek holiday islands including
Kos and Rhodes worst affected. The Foreign Office today instructed visitors to
'be aware of the possibility of aftershocks.'
Holidaymakers fled hotels in terror and some even jumped
from balconies as the quake hit before running for their lives to higher ground
as tsunami waves surged through beachfront resorts moments later, flooding bars
and restaurants, carrying away cars and depositing boats in town streets.
On the island of Kos, where a state of emergency has been
declared, two male tourists - a 20-year-old from Sweden and a 39-year-old from
Turkey - were killed under a collapsed ceiling at the packed White Corner Club
bar. Another man from Sweden has lost both of his legs, police said.
It comes as millions of Britons are expected to head off on
holiday today on what is described as the 'busiest getaway weekend' of the year
- but many face losing out on thousands of pounds after travel firms refused to
refund trips to Greece and Turkey following the deadly earthquake.
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