Six Dead as Powerful Earthquake Shakes Albania

The Albanian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday morning that at least six people have died as a result of the earthquake that struck the port city of Durres in Albania at 3.54am local time.

With rescue operations ongoing and reports of injured people being pulled from collapsed buildings, the ministry confirmed that there have been three deaths in Durres, two in the nearby town of Thumane and one in Kurbin.

According to Euronews Albania, the Ministry of Health said that 150 people have been injured.

Local reports said that several buildings collapsed in Durres, a city some 35 kilometres to the west of the Albanian capital, Tirana. The earthquake’s epicentre was 10 kilometres north-west of Shijak, between Durres and Tirana.

Reuters reported that a Defence Ministry spokesperson confirmed that firefighters and army personnel are involved in the rescue operations.

Government spokespeople said that the biggest damage to buildings was in Durres and that a few people have been taken to hospital in Tirana, Reuters added.

Media have been reporting this was the strongest earthquake in decades in Albania, while reports on social media said that some people slept in their cars because they feared aftershocks hitting their homes.

The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.

Tuesday’s earthquake came two months after another, 5.6-magnitude quake, which struck along the country’s central coast, leaving cracks in buildings and streets littered with debris.