AN Irishman caught up in an earthquake that killed at least two people on the Greek island of Kos has said he was woken by "absolute pandemonium".
At least 100 people were injured and buildings were damaged when the 6.7-magnitude quake struck in the Aegean Sea on Friday morning.
The earthquake triggered a small tsunami that caused flooding in areas of Greece and Turkey popular with Irish holidaymakers.
Patrick Leonard, from Dublin, is holidaying in Kos and was asleep when the quake struck at 01:31am local time this morning (23:31 GMT on Thursday).
He said it was "one of the most frightening experiences I've ever had".
Mr Leonard said he was getting an early night as he would be joining friends for a boat trip the next morning before leaving on Saturday.
"We were in bed and all of a sudden the earthquake hit," he told Good Morning Ulster. “It was absolute pandemonium."
"The room I'm in is on the ground level beside the pool, and I was half asleep and the bed just moved and the ground started shaking, really powerful.
"I panicked but my friend said just get down on the ground.
"The pool - there was water being shoved out by force of the quake - the buildings were shaking, trees blowing.
"There was just pandemonium - I didn't know what to think."
The two people who died were crushed by falling debris, police said.
Kos regional governor Giorgos Halkidios added that the army is supporting the emergency services, with some of the injured in a serious condition.
Mr Leonard said a bar where he and his friends spent most nights of their holiday was badly hit by the quake.
"The bar we went to every night - whole roof was taken off," he said.
"To think that could've been myself, my friends - I count myself lucky to be alive. The last thing you expect is to go on a holiday and an earthquake hits you.
"You hear about it, learn about it in school but you never think it'll actually happen to you or affect you."
