Nine other injuries were reported during the earthquake, which was centred 23km south-east of the capital city Heraklion.
The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake’s magnitude reached 5.8, with a series of aftershocks.
The only fatality confirmed so far is said to have happened when a church dome undergoing renovation collapsed, Reuters reports.
British tourists in the resort of Creta Maris were evacuated to hotels away from higher buildings in case of more tremors.