Police on the Greek island of Crete are on a manhunt to find the perpetrators of a family vendetta shootout that killed two and injured several others.

Police said the shooting in the mountainous village of Vorizia in central Crete killed a man, 39, and a woman, 56.

Police department spokeswoman Constantia Dimoglidou told state TV it was “still not clear how many people were involved”.

“From our investigation, it emerges that the member of one family came to the village in the morning, met with members of the other family and opened fire against them. This is how the gunfire exchange began,” she said.

Two other women and two men were hospitalised, and the police said it was treating the latter two as potential suspects.

State media reported that AK-47 assault rifles and shotguns were used in the attack in the remote village, about 50km southwest of the island capital Iraklio.

Hours earlier, a house under construction in the village was damaged by an explosive device.

Heavily armed police reinforcements were rushed from Athens, and the head of Greek police is personally heading the investigation.

Illegal gun ownership is rife on Crete, and family vendettas – frequently caused by perceived honour insults – are common on the island.

Guns are also often fired to mark celebrations at weddings and festivals.

Recently, a 23-year-old shot and killed a 52-year-old man during a village celebration in western Crete.

A campaign in 2005, backed by the late, legendary Cretan Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to encourage locals to avoid pointless gun violence, had little effect.

- Agence France-Presse