in

Albania: Powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Tirana – BBC News, Google News


        

            

Media playback is unsupported on your device

      

               

    

Media captionRescue workers Searches a collapsed building in Thumane

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Albania, bringing down buildings and leaving people trapped under rubble.

At least 13 people have died. One man was killed after jumping from a window in panic, a defense ministry spokeswoman said.

The quake hit (km) 21 miles) north- west of the capital, Tirana, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Hours later, a separate earthquake struck the city of Mostar in Bosnia. There were no reports of casualties.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on Twitter: “We have victims. We are working to do everything possible in the affected areas.”

More than 600 people have been treated in hospital, Albanian state media reported, including more than 300 in Tirana and in the coastal city of Durres.

Schools will be closed for the day.

Emergency workers told Albanian media that one of the dead was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her body.

                                                                                                      Image copyright                 Reuters                                                      
Image caption                                    Authorities have described the quake as the strongest in the past three decades                             

The defense ministry spokeswoman confirmed firefighters and army staff were helping residents caught under the rubble in Durres, where four people were killed.

Three of those who died were in the town of Thumane, 40 km to the north-west of Tirana and close to the epicentre . There are fears more people are trapped under rubble.

The man who jumped from the balcony was killed further north, in Kurbin. Another person died in Lezha.

A man in Durres told local news channel News 24 that his daughter and niece were among those trapped inside a collapsed apartment building.

“I talked with my daughter and niece on the phone. They said they are well and waiting for the rescue. Could not talk to my wife. There are other families, but I could not talk to them. “

Rescuers in the city were seen trying to free a young boy trapped in the rubble.

There have been a number of aftershocks, including one of 5.3 magnitude, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said.

The Balkans is in an area prone to seismic activity.

Tuesday’s earthquake has been described by authorities as the strongest to hit Albania in decades.

In 1979, a magnitude 6.9 quake hit Albania leaving 136 dead and more than 1, 000 Injured.


Have you been affected by the earthquake? If it is safe to do so you can get in touch by emailing[email protected].

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

Brave Browser
Read More
Payeer

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Boris Johnson news live: Latest updates and polls as PM warned over looming Brexit crisis – The Independent, Google News

UK banknote printer De La Rue fears for its future – BBC News, Google News