A 5.3 earthquake on the Richter scale was reported a little before 5 am on Tuesday off the west coast of the Ionian island of Zakynthos, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens.

The epicentre of the tremor was 48 km west-southwest of Zakynthos, while its focal depth was recorded at 1.1 km.

The earthquake, which is the strongest aftershock following last Friday’s 6.4 earthquake is close to the seismologists’ forecasts of a 5.5 magnitude tremor they predicted as the major aftershock following the October 26 quake.