TIRANA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Albania after the strong earthquake that hit the country on Tuesday early morning rose to 13, the Minstry of Defense said.

This is the latest information at 1:02 p.m. local time (1202 GMT) as search and rescue operations continue.

According to preliminary information from the Ministry of Defense, seven bodies are confirmed to have been recovered from the debris in the port city of Durres, five in Thumane and one in Kurbin.

The ministry also confirms that 39 people have been rescued in Durres and Thumane, where the earthquake caused the worst damages.

In a press conference, the Minister of Defense Olta Xhacka said that a total of 400 personnel of the Armed Forces are currently on the ground and over 1,000 State Police officers are on standby to cope with the difficult situation in the wake of the earthquake.

"Unfortunately, search and rescue operations continue and there are still a number of citizens believed to be under the debris of several collapsed buildings in Durres," Xhacka added.

The Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu said that around 600 injured people have been offered medical assistance in hospitals in the cities of Durres, Tirana, Kurbin and Lezha.

"We are all on standby not only with medical teams in hospitals, but also with national emergency medical teams through the Emergency Coordination Center where we have had more than 500 calls so far. The National Emergency Service has so far carried out more than 120 home missions, life-saving missions and transferred all those in need of medical treatment to the hospital," Manastirliu told reporters at a hospital in Durres.

Several world leaders have shown their solidarity with Albania following the devastating earthquake, offering condolences to the people and the authorities of the country.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.3 on Richter scale hit Albania on Tuesday early morning. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)