Three earthquakes hit Greek island of Crete on Boxing Day

Three moderate earthquakes have hit Crete on Boxing Day, with tremors also felt in other southern Greek islands.

The first - which had a magnitude of 5.2 - took place on Sunday afternoon, with the second - which had a slightly greater magnitude of 5.4 - striking just before 7pm local time. A smaller tremor of 4.2 followed shortly after.

No damage or casualties had been reported as of Sunday evening.

Crete was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.3 in October, as well as a tremor with a magnitude of 6.0 the month before - which killed a man and injured at least 20 others.

The first Boxing Day earthquake struck in the sea to the east of the island at 5.15pm local time (3.15pm GMT) and had a depth of 9km, according to Greece’s Institute of Geodynamics.

The earthquake was felt in Crete and the islands of Karpathos, Kassos, Rhodes and Santorini, according to local media.

The second tremor struck nearly two hours later just before 7pm.

Its epicentre, while still in the sea, was slightly closer to both Crete and Kassos, according to the Institute of Geodynamics. Its depth was recorded as 6km.

The mayor of Kassos - a small island in the Aegean Sea - told state news agency ANA no buildings were damaged in the earthquakes

He reportedly said the island’s residents were not particularly concerned.

Additional reporting by Associated Press