Football World Cup Qualifiers: Earthquake During Training of Austrian National Team in Cyprus

Around 10:30 AM CET, official sources registered an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2. The epicenter of the quake was about 13 kilometers from Paphos. Only slight tremors were felt in the spectator stands. The players of the ÖFB team, who were warming up at the time, stated that they had not noticed the quake.

ÖFB Team Unaware of Earthquake During Training

Christoph Baumgartner reported that he only learned about the quake after training via Instagram. Patrick Wimmer also did not notice anything, he merely said: "For some, there's always a rustling in the head, so some don't even feel it when there's an earthquake. That's definitely the case for me, maybe there are two or three others as well." Light earthquakes are regularly recorded in Cyprus.

These statements came about an hour before another quake, which according to official reports had a magnitude of 5.3, shook the region in the afternoon. According to ÖFB information, the players were in the hotel at that time and clearly felt the earthquake. According to initial information, there was no damage to the accommodation. About a quarter of an hour later, a lighter aftershock with a magnitude of 3.5 followed.

Earthquake Felt Far Beyond Cyprus

The severe tremors were felt across the entire island and as far as the coasts of Turkey, Israel, and Lebanon, reported Cypriot media. People ran into the streets, and schools were evacuated as a precaution. Subsequently, there were numerous small, barely noticeable tremors. The second strong quake again instilled fear in people. Experts were cautious with predictions. There have been no significant damages so far, said Civil Protection spokesperson Panagiotis Liatsidis to the Alpha broadcaster. Seismologists emphasized in interviews with Cypriot media that it was unclear whether the strong quake in the morning was already the main quake. One must wait up to 48 hours.

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(APA/Red)

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