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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Claire Galloway & Abbie Meehan

Edinburgh dad speaks of the terrifying moment he was caught in Crete earthquake

An Edinburgh dad has spoken of the terrifying moment he was caught in the Crete earthquake that shook the island.

Stuart, who lives in South Queensferry, had jetted off to the Greek island from Edinburgh Airport on Saturday night with his wife and three-month-old baby.

But the family's first holiday together was quickly set to take a frightening turn shortly after their arrival, as reported by the Daily Record.

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The popular holiday destination was rocked by the 5.8 magnitude quake that struck off the coast of the island just after 9.15am local time on Monday.

The 39-year-old revealed he had been staying around 15km from the epicentre of the earthquake.

He said: "We flew from Edinburgh on a package organised by TUI and got here on Saturday night.

"It was my wife and I's first holiday with our three-month-old baby girl. We are staying on the coast 15km north of the epicentre."

Stuart has described the 'strangest feeling ever' after getting up to go to the toilet when the earthquake hit.

The confused dad-of-one had initially thought he was fainting before noticing cables swinging side to side.

He continued: "I was standing when it hit.

"Initially, I felt unsteady on my feet and like I was going to faint.

"It sounded like there was a lorry driving past. Then I realised the walls and ground was shaking and there was a cord swinging from side to side."

"My wife was in the other room and said it felt like an underground train was going past, and the wardrobe doors were banging open and closed", he added.

A startled Stuart immediately reached for his phone to investigate what had happened.

"I googled straight away, and they had an earthquake warning triggered straight away", he explained.

Stuart, who is in Crete on a package holiday with TUI, added: "There is no damage here but we have heard of falling buildings and potentially trapped people 30km away.

"High rise hotels nearby were also evacuated due to risk of aftershocks."

While the family, who plan on continuing the rest of their holiday, has been left unscathed by the earthquake not everyone has been so lucky.

Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry confirmed one man had been killed. He was discovered after being pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed church in the village of Arkalochori.

Authorities have also confirmed the earthquake has injured 20 others, while buildings on the island have been left badly damaged.

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