One person dead after earthquake in Crete

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Greece's largest island, Crete, on Monday (September 27) killing at least one person and injuring several, according to authorities.

Damage was reported to many old buildings close to the epicenter, in the east of the island.

One man died when the dome of a small chapel in the town of Arkalochori caved in during renovation works, according to a police official.

The church was largely reduced to rubble.

Stavros Kalogiannakis is the Rescue Service chief:

"The side walls were still standing, but the whole roof had collapsed and the rubble was one metre high, so we believed, that hopes that the person would be alive were very slim. With the help of heavy machinery we removed and emptied the rubble around and inside the church and reached the lifeless body of the poor worker underneath."

The Greek infrastructure ministry said it had sent a group of civil engineers to assess the structural damage and assist in relief efforts.

Civil protection authorities said nine people were injured in the quake, which damaged mainly old, unοccupied buildings in the wider Arkalochori region.

Still, many people in Crete’s main city Heraklion - some 20 miles away - rushed outdoors.

A civil protection official said hotel rooms would be made available for people needing to stay outside their homes overnight, and 2,500 tents would also be put up.