Powerful quake rattles southern Greece

ATHENS (Reuters) - A strong earthquake shook Greece and most of the eastern Mediterranean on Sunday, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of major damages or casualties.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake off the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese measured 6.9 on the open-ended Richter scale, with its epicenter at a depth of 70 km (43.5 miles) near the island of Kithira.

"We were extremely lucky this was an underwater quake," institute chief Giorgos Stavrakakis told reporters.

"If it had happened on land it would be a mess. We expect some post-seismic activity with aftershocks but the fact that it was deep in the sea saved us."

The earthquake struck at 1134 GMT and lasted for about seven seconds and was felt as far away as southern Italy, Cyprus and Egypt.

A government official told Reuters there were no reports of any major damage to buildings or casualties in central and southern Greece.

Greece is sitting on several of Europe's most active seismic faults, scattered around the eastern Mediterranean.