Watch now: Video, photos show Croatia earthquake devastation
ZAGREB, Croatia — A strong earthquake hit central Croatia on Tuesday, destroying buildings and sending panicked people fleeing into rubble-covered streets in a town southeast of the capital. Authorities said at least six people were killed and dozens were injured.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said a magnitude 6.3 quake hit 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb. Reports said it caused widespread damage in the hardest-hit town of Petrinja. The same area was struck by a 5.2 quake on Monday.
Officials said a 12-year-old girl died in Petrinja, a town of some 25,000 people. Another five people were killed in a nearly destroyed village close to the town, according to the state HRT television. At least 20 people were hospitalized, two with serious injuries, officials said, adding that many more people are unaccounted for.
In Petrinja, cries could be heard from underneath destroyed houses. One woman was found alive some four hours after the quake. Emergency teams used rescue dogs while looking for survivors, while family members looked on in despair.
“The center of Petrinja as it used to be no longer exists,” Croatria’s state HRT television reported, saying people remained 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.”
Scroll through the photos below for scenes of the devastation:
