51 quake fatalities confirmed as rescue operations end in Albania
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E-mail Xinhua, December 1, 2019
The search and rescue operations for more survivors after a strong earthquake hit Albania early Tuesday morning has ended, Prime Minister Edi Rama said in Tirana, capital of Albania, on Saturday, confirming a death toll of 51.
Speaking at the government meeting on Saturday morning, Rama said: "I have to thank the search and rescue troops that came from abroad. Without them we would not have been able to save any citizen from the debris. But this does not diminish the work of the Albanian troops, which lack specialized tools."
The cabinet discussed drafting a draconian construction law in the wake of the earthquake, he added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection announced that the 913 people injured in the earthquake have received medical assistance in hospitals.
The death toll climbed to 51 on Saturday afternoon when a 20-year-old girl who had been seriously injured died at hospital in Tirana, local media reported.
According to the Defense Ministry, about 250 troops from Albania, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Romania, North Macedonia, the European Union, the United States were engaged in the rescue operations that lasted for three days.
A devastating 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the country at 3:55 local time on Tuesday.
A funeral for the eight members of Lala family killed in the earthquake was held in Durres on Saturday. The only survivor of the family was a 17-year-old boy named Rame Lala.
Albanian President Ilir Meta attended the funeral. "It is impossible to find words to comfort Lala family after this terrible tragedy," he said.
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