Albania earthquake: Rescue efforts wind down

November 30, 2019

Rescue efforts in Albania have largely wrapped up as mass funerals were held for the dead on Friday, following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday.

Rescuers will recommence their work searching through the rubble of a hotel in the port city of Durres at daybreak on Saturday. The hotel is the only place where the rescue mission is still underway.

Funerals held in Durres (picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Kryeziu)

Funerals held in Durres

At least one woman, a dancer, is still missing and is believed to be in the hotel, though it is not known whether she survived the quake.

Read more: Albania earthquake: Tears, prayers in village near epicenter

Death toll at 49

There have been more than 500 aftershocks since Tuesday. The most seriously affected areas were the coastal city of Durres and the town of Thumane. Families held funerals on Friday for some of the fallen.

Map of Albania showing the earthquake epicenter

The death count has now reached 49 and over 2,000 people have been injured. More than 700 buildings were seriously damaged in Durres, including the hotel.

Search teams from Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia were replaced by teams from France, Switzerland and Italy at the site of the hotel on Friday afternoon before rescue efforts were called off for the day. The six-story building was one of many that were reduced to rubble.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Early morning earthquake

The earthquake hit shortly before shortly before 4 a.m. as people slept. Witnesses reported buildings partially collapsing around them as they woke up.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Buildings collapse

Many people were trapped under the rubble when residential buildings in the towns of Thumane and Durres collapsed. One man in Kurbin died trying to escape a building by jumping out of the window.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Rescue attempts

Rescue teams were racing to recover survivors, but the authorities described their work as “extremely difficult” due to high risk of more structures collapsing.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Help from Kosovo

The neighboring Kosovo, which also populated mostly by Albanians, sent a contigent of vehicles and emergency responders across the border. Other Balkan countries and the EU all pledged to deploy rescuers and equipment.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Many injured

By early afternoon, hundreds of people had been reported injured and scores were hospitalized. Soldiers were erecting hundreds of tents to house those who were left without safe homes.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Quake felt by millions

While only Albanian authorities were reporting causalities, the quake was felt all over the Balkan Peninsula, including northern Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria.

In pictures: Albania earthquake

Worst earthquake in decades

The 6.4-magnitude earthquake was the most powerful felt in the past 30 years, according to the Defense Ministry. Images of collapsed buildings suggested it may have been worse than the 1979 quake that razed a neighborhood of a northern town.