5.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Greece

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck the northwestern part of Greece on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said.

According to the EMSC, the tremor was recorded at 00:49 GMT with the epicenter located at a depth of 10 kilometers (over 6 miles), 46 kilometers southwest of the city of Ioannina.

The US Geological Survey said that the magnitude of the earthquake stood at 5.7.

There have been no reports about any victims or damage caused by the earthquake so far.

Greece lies in a seismologically active region as the Mediterranean Sea is a border between the African and Eurasian plates. The movement of the African plate to the north - where the Eurasian plate lies - sometimes causes earthquakes and has already resulted in the formation of several mountain ranges in Europe, including the Alps.

The seismic activity in Greece resulted in the so-called Late Bronze Age eruption of the Santorini volcano in the 2nd millennium BC, which triggered huge tsunami waves and caused the decline of the Minoan civilization.