A powerful earthquake rocked southern Greece Sunday shattering buildings and causing panic among residents who fled to the streets for safety. The tremor measured 6.5 degrees on the Richter scale and was felt all the way to the country’s capital, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.

Local authorities said at least two people died and 20 other were injured as the quake – which had an epicenter 200km (124 miles) west of Athens – hit near Patras in the Peloponnese region.

The earthquake struck Greece, which is one of Europe's most earthquake-prone countries, at 3:25 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey and Greek scientists said.

A 60-year-old man died as the roof of the house fell on him and an 80-year-old woman suffered a deadly heart attack during or after the quake, authorities said. Three members of a family and a child were reportedly trapped under rubble in a village in the south Pelopponese region, authorities said. All of them were rescued, Margaritis Mouzas of the country's civil protection agency said on NET television.

Quake observatories in Athens and Thessaloniki also said the tremor had a magnitude of 6.5. Greece lies in one of the globe’s most active earthquake areas, between Europe and Africa. A 5.9 earthquake hit Athens in 1999 killing 143 people.