An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck southern Greece on Sunday, killing two villagers, injuring another 50 people and damaging homes and a military base, authorities said.

Panicked residents ran out into the streets and some jumped from balconies when the quake, which was felt as far away as Italy, struck at 1:25 p.m. British time, 54 km (33 miles) south of the western port city of Patras.

It also triggered a landslide that cut off a major road.

"We have two dead as a result of the earthquake," Greece's Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told reporters. "There are many more injured. (Emergency forces) have been at the affected areas since the start, and more are on the way."

One man was found dead under a collapsed wall in the village of Kato Achaia, near the epicentre, while an 80-year-old woman in a neighbouring village died in hospital after being injured.

"I've never felt anything like this before, I dived under the table and waited for it to end," Patras student Vassilis Lambropoulos told Reuters by phone.

"Once it stopped, the entire neighbourhood ran out into the streets and tried to call loved ones, but the networks had jammed, which added to the fear."

Emergency services focused their efforts on Kato Achaia, where the most serious damage seems to have occurred, a police official told Reuters.

Greek television showed panicked villagers rummaging through rubble trying to find belongings, while more were shown wandering the streets in disbelief and fear.

At least four people, including a young girl, who had been trapped in houses that had collapsed, were rescued soon after the quake struck, fire officials told Reuters.

There were also reports of a further two people trapped in Kato Achaia, but this could not be confirmed, the official said.

FEAR

Aftershocks were continuing, with many residents in the region set to spend the night outdoors and in cars, too scared to return to their residences.

"My life passed before my eyes," Aphrodite Arachoviti, 22, told Reuters by phone. "I've never experienced anything like this before. Many people are still outside. They're going to sleep outdoors tonight."

The national Athens-Patras highway was cut off after a landslide caused by the quake blocked off the country's main southern road artery, and authorities were working to clear it.

The main control tower of the Greek air force military base in the nearby town of Andravida was also damaged and evacuated.

Tremors were felt as far away as the southern part of Italy, but officials there reported no damage or injuries.

"We will definitely have more aftershocks, which is a natural phenomenon, but people should not panic and they should listen to local authorities," Athens Geodynamical Institute director Gerassimos Papadopoulos told reporters.

The quake was felt in Athens, where 143 people were killed in a 1999 earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale. Greece is often rattled by quakes, most causing no serious damage.

In January an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck Greece, the epicentre again in the Peloponnese peninsula.