The death toll from a devastating earthquake that recently struck near the Albanian capital of Tirana has risen to 27, Serbian Ambassador in Albania Miroljub Zaric said on Wednesday, adding that rescuers from his country have arrived at the scene to help deal with the aftermath
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) The death toll from a devastating earthquake that recently struck near the Albanian capital of Tirana has risen to 27, Serbian Ambassador in Albania Miroljub Zaric said on Wednesday, adding that rescuers from his country have arrived at the scene to help deal with the aftermath.A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook Albania early on Tuesday. The earthquake was followed by several significant aftershocks that wreaked havoc across Albania, including Tirana, the port city of Durres and the town of Thumane. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that search teams from Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Montenegro and the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo would take part in the rescue efforts.
"According to the latest data, 27 people have died. Unfortunately, the number of victims is increasing every hour. The Albanian government held an emergency meeting to come up with the next steps ... Serbian rescuers have been distributed in the city of Thumane, and they have started to work," Zaric said, as quoted by the Serbian Tanjug news agency.
On Wednesday, Rama canceled celebrations for Albanian Flag Day, which is on Friday, and announced a state of emergency in Tirana and Durres.
"The priority is to save every possible life. We declare a state of the emergency for Tirana and Durres area," he said, as quoted by Albanian network Top Channel.
There have been no reports on how many people might be still trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
