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| Greece storm: Six tourists killed as wind and hail batter Halkidiki | Greece storm: Six tourists killed as wind and hail batter Halkidiki |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Six tourists have been killed and at least 30 other people injured in a violent storm that swept across a region of northern Greece. | Six tourists have been killed and at least 30 other people injured in a violent storm that swept across a region of northern Greece. |
| Gale-force winds, heavy rain and hailstorms lashed Halkidiki, near the city of Thessaloniki, late on Wednesday, officials say. | Gale-force winds, heavy rain and hailstorms lashed Halkidiki, near the city of Thessaloniki, late on Wednesday, officials say. |
| A Czech couple died when their caravan was blown away, and two Romanians and two Russians were also killed. | A Czech couple died when their caravan was blown away, and two Romanians and two Russians were also killed. |
| A state of emergency was declared and more than 100 rescue workers deployed. | A state of emergency was declared and more than 100 rescue workers deployed. |
| Charalambos Steriadis, head of civil protection in northern Greece, described it as an "unprecedented phenomenon". | Charalambos Steriadis, head of civil protection in northern Greece, described it as an "unprecedented phenomenon". |
| The storm followed a spell of very hot weather in Greece with temperatures soaring to 37C (98F) over the past two days. | The storm followed a spell of very hot weather in Greece with temperatures soaring to 37C (98F) over the past two days. |
| Images and video posted on social media show trees toppled, cars overturned and buildings damaged. | Images and video posted on social media show trees toppled, cars overturned and buildings damaged. |
| Emily Kishtoo, from Surrey, was at a beach party with her family when the storm hit on Tuesday night. | |
| "It literally came out of nowhere," she told the BBC. | |
| "The lights cut out on the beach that we were in - it was chaos. People running, screaming and just trying to basically get off the beach." | |
| She says staff at the resort she was staying with her children, aged three and five, directed the family to a bar area - which then began to flood. | |
| "We've got two young children, there were lots of children crying, obviously very upset, very, very scared." | |
| Electricity access at the resort has been intermittent since, she said, with no running water on Wednesday morning. | |
| A witness quoted by broadcaster ERT said the freak storm had lasted only for about 20 minutes. | |
| The Romanian woman and her child were killed when the roof of a restaurant collapsed at Nea Plagia, officials say, while the Russian man and his son were killed by a falling tree near their hotel in the seaside resort of Potidea. | |
| "It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived through something like this," said Athansios Kaltsas, director of the Nea Moudania Medical Centre which treated many of the injured. | "It is the first time in my 25-year career that I have lived through something like this," said Athansios Kaltsas, director of the Nea Moudania Medical Centre which treated many of the injured. |
| "It was so abrupt, so sudden," he said. | "It was so abrupt, so sudden," he said. |
| Greece's minister for citizen protection, Michalis Chryssohoidis, is due to visit the region on Thursday. | Greece's minister for citizen protection, Michalis Chryssohoidis, is due to visit the region on Thursday. |
| Are you in northern Greece? If it is safe for you to do so please email us your experiences of the storm at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you in northern Greece? If it is safe for you to do so please email us your experiences of the storm at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
| Or use the form below | Or use the form below |