Early morning tremor shakes Athens

Athenians were rocked awake on Tuesday morning by a tremor that hit a few kilometers east of the capital and was sharply felt in most parts of the city.

The quake, measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale, hit at just before 5 a.m., with no damage or injuries reported.

Its epicenter, according to seismologists, was Pikermi, a town some 24 kilometers east of the capital, and a few kilometers to the north of the Athens International Airport, which kept operating without any problems.

Experts said that the tremor did not give rise to concerns as the Pikermi fault line is considered relatively inactive and low risk.

Local residents in eastern Attica described the tremor as a sharp wave accompanied by a loud noise.

The center of the quake was estimated to be five kilometers from the surface. No major aftershocks have been reported.