At least seven people, including six tourists, were killed after a violent storm lashed through Northern Greece overnight.
Video captured by an eyewitness shows powerful winds and rain slamming into the Halkidiki peninsula, an area near Thessaloniki that’s popular among tourists.
An elderly couple is among the victims killed after their vehicle was blown over, as reported in CNN Greece.
A woman and an eight-year-old boy, both from Romania, were killed after a roof collapsed on a restaurant in Nea Plagia, according to The Sun.
Another child and man died after a tree fell near their hotel; a seventh unidentified victim’s body was found in the sea.
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The storm reportedly lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.
“It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived through something like this,” Athansios Kaltsas, director of the Nea Moudania Medical Center told the publication. “It was so abrupt and so sudden.”
At least 100 others were reportedly injured and transferred to local hospitals. One person was taken to intensive care, but all of them are in a stable condition, government spokesman Stelios Petsa told CNN Greece.
Government officials have declared a State of Emergency in Halkidiki.
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Meteorologist Klearxos Marousakis told The Sun that such severe storms are “extremely unusual” in Greece for this time of year where summers are usually hot and dry.
Greek Photographer Constantine Emmanouildi wrote about his experience on Facebook:
“I have been chasing storms [for] many years but what I witnessed tonight is the scariest thing in my life.
“We had a severe storm in Halkidiki Greece and the night turned into day from the lightning.
“I just cannot believe in my eyes and need some time to take in the experience. Me and my wife, Emelie Selander, were trapped literally into the cloud with thunders coming down all around us. I am talking lightning appearing with no stop and no time gap in between.”
