A 12-year-old child has died along with five other people after a major earthquake struck Croatia near the capital of Zagreb.
Widespread damage was reported to buildings, with streets littered with fallen bricks and dirt, with many houses completely destroyed in the town of Petrinja, south east of the capital.
Firefighters rescued a man and a boy trapped in a car buried in rubble and carried them to an ambulance to be taken to hospital.
Situacija u Petrinji. pic.twitter.com/EK63mcVofC
— Hrvatski Crveni križ (@crvenikriz_hr) December 29, 2020
Croatian state broadcaster HRT said the girl died in Petrinja, which was hit hardest by the earthquake.
"The centre of Petrinja as it used to be no longer exists," HRT said in its report.
"One girl died and there are injuries and people inside collapsed buildings."
"My town has been completely destroyed, we have dead children," Petrinja mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT TV."This is like Hiroshima - half of the city no longer exists.
"The city has been demolished, the city is no longer liveable," he added. "We need help."
Pic: Twitter/Croatian Red Cross
The Croatian military has been deployed to help with the rescue operation and the Croatian Red Cross described the situation as “very serious” as it despatched crisis teams to the area.
People shelter outside in Zagreb
Prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said he was on the way to the town “after another devastating earthquake, which was felt in many parts of Croatia.”
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude hit 46 kilometres (28 miles) south east of Zagreb.
The same area was struck by a 5.2 quake on Monday and several smaller aftershocks were felt on Tuesday.
European Council president said the EU was offering its “full support and assistance”.
He tweeted: "We are closely following the situation in Zagreb following the devastating earthquake.
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the earthquake as "extremely strong", far stronger than another one that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in spring.
He warned people to keep out of potentially shaky, old buildings and move to the newer areas of the city because of the aftershocks.
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