Fierce storm kills seven in Greek tourist peninsula

"There was panic, people were howling and running to hide," said Haris Lazaridis, owner of a tavern where a 54-year-old woman from Romania and her son were killed when the roof caved in

Seven people died and at least 23 were injured as a fierce storm ripped through beachfronts in one of Greece's top tourist areas, terrifying thousands of holidaymakers caught in the open, authorities said Thursday.

Six tourists including two children were killed -- two each from the Czech Republic, Russia and Romania -- in the northern peninsula of Halkidiki, near Greece's second city Thessaloniki, in the storm late Wednesday.