An undersea earthquake hit the southern Italian island of Lipari Monday, causing a landslide on a crowded holiday beach. Several people were initially said to have suffered cuts and bruises after rocks tumbled off a cliff but a crisis unit stressed that no one had been taken to hospital for treatment. The 500m beach of volcanic sand at the island’s main town, also called Lipari, is one of its major attractions. The epicentre of the 4.6 magnitude tremor was located on the seabed at a depth of 19 km, six kilometres from the island, vulcanologists said. The quake hit the area just after 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) and was "clearly felt" by inhabitants, many of whom left their homes. "We suddenly felt an extremely violent shock. Luckily it only lasted a few seconds but we were really scared," said shop assistant Angelo Natoli.

"We all rushed out into the street. There was a huge crowd. Bits of stonework fell off some old buildings". "I’ve been told it was worse down at the Valle Muria beach where some people were hurt". "Many tourists want to leave but we hope the worst is over". Rescuers in helicopters are flying over the island to see if there have been any other landslides. The crisis unit was set up to assess damage, including Senate Speaker Renato Schifani who was holidaying on Lipari. Underwater quakes and volcanic eruptions are fairly common in the Aeolian islands, an archipelago off northeastern Sicily straddling the gap between Vesuvius and Etna which includes Stromboli, Vulcano and Salina. There have been six quakes in the archipelago already this month, ranging between 2 and 3 in magnitude. Landslides were also reported on Vulcano Monday but there were no reports of damage or injuries. In 2003 six people were hurt and extensive damage was caused on Stromboli after a cliff fell into the sea during a large eruption. Lipari is the largest of the Aeolian Islands. It has a permanent population of 11,000 but during the May-September tourist season its population may reach up to 20,000.