Two women killed in Greece earthquake

Two elderly women were killed and six others people, among them two children, were injured in a 6.1-magnitude quake that hit Lefkada island in western Greece on Tuesday.

Both women were fatally injured when walls of their homes collapsed in the powerful quake, according to the fire brigade.

The six injured people, including two boys of 10 and 12 years, were hospitalised with minor injuries, Christos Katforis, deputy mayor of Apollonion Municipality on the island, told the Greek national news agency AMNA.

Damages to homes and roads have been reported, Xinhua news agency reported.

The quake was felt across a large part of western Greece. Some people on Lefkada and nearby Ionian Sea island of Kefalonia rushed out onto the streets.

Local fire department has sent crews to Lefkada to assess the situation.

Greek scientists at the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory located the tremor's epicentre at 5 km deep in the sea about 25 km off the island's northwestern coast, and they revised the magnitude up to 6.1 from a preliminary estimate of 5.6 given by the Euro Mediterranean Seismic Centre.

At least 20 aftershocks have been recorded over the past few hours, according to Professor Efthymios Lekkas, head of the Antiseismic Policy and Protection Organisation.