Six tourists killed, 30 injured by tornadoes and hail storms in Greece

Dozens more were injured when high winds struck the Halkidiki region near the city of Thessaloniki, the authorities said.

Thessaloniki, Greece:

Tornadoes and violent hail storms killed six tourists in northern Greece on Wednesday, announced police.

Dozens more people were injured when high winds struck the Halkidiki region near the city of Thessaloniki, the authorities added.

Television images showed cars overturned, fallen trees, torn roofs and mudflows.

"Six tourists were killed and at least 30 people were injured in the cyclone," said Charalambos Steriadis, head of civil protection in northern Greece.

The storm lasted about 20 minutes, according to witnesses interviewed by public television ERT.

A Czech couple died when violent winds carried their caravan away while a Russian and his son were killed by a falling tree, the police said.

Debris from a building killed a Romanian woman and her child.

According to the port police, a fisherman in his sixties also disappeared.

"This was an unprecedented phenomenon," said Mr. Steriadis, highlighting very strong winds, tornadoes and violent hail storms, adding that Halkidiki had declared a state of emergency.

At least 140 rescuers were involved in the operation, said the chief of emergency, Vassilis Varthakoyannis.

The minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chryssohoidis, will visit the site on Thursday morning.