Young woman dies in Greek earthquake

updated 11:41 a.m. ET Jan. 4, 2009

ATHENS, Greece - An 18-year-old Romanian woman died Sunday morning after the wall of the compound where she was housed collapsed during an earthquake, the state Athens News Agency reported.

The 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck at 7:10 a.m. (0510 GMT) at sea off the Peloponnese, 195 kilometers (122 miles) southwest of Athens.

Such magnitude earthquakes occur frequently in Greece. In this case, tons of refuse had been stacked against one of the walls of the compound in the town of Hora. Heavy rains over the past few days had weakened the wall, which collapsed under the weight of the refuse during the earthquake. This was the only damage in the area, firefighters reported.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene found the woman dead. Her 21-year-old husband, also trapped in the ruins, is in hospital and his condition is not life-threatening.

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