NNA - Ongoing seismic activity in the Aegean Sea has the possibility of causing volcanic activity, a report by AFAD and the Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA) said Wednesday.

The joint preliminary assessment report by AFAD and the MTA on the earthquakes near Santorini Island said the number of quakes occurring in and around Santorini, which began intensifying as of Jan. 28, had exceeded 900 as of Feb. 5.

The report said the earthquakes, the largest of which measured 5.1, were concentrated northeast of Santorini Island and that their depths ranged between 5 and 25 kilometers.

“The earthquakes are concentrated in the region of the Kolumbo volcano, which has an underwater crater located 6.5 kilometers northeast of Santorini Island,” it added, stressing that the closest earthquake to the Turkish coast is 140 kilometers away.

===========R.H.