6.4-magnitude earthquake hits Croatia, kills at least 6: National Public Radio

Croatian soldiers walk past damaged buildings on Tuesday in Petringa, about 30 miles from the capital Zagreb, after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes the city.

Denis Lovrovich / AFP via Getty Images

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Croatian soldiers walk past damaged buildings on Tuesday in Petringa, about 30 miles from the capital Zagreb, after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes the city.

Denis Lovrovich / AFP via Getty Images

A powerful earthquake triggered earthquakes across Croatia on Tuesday, causing massive damage to a town south of the country’s capital, Zagreb, and killing at least six people, according to news reports citing officials and residents.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.4, occurred at around 6:20 a.m. ET, according to Euro-Mediterranean Seismic Center. The initial tremor was followed by a series of weaker aftershocks.

“This is the largest earthquake occurring in Croatia since the advent of modern seismic devices,” according to United States Geological Survey. A slightly smaller earthquake struck Zagreb in 1880.

Tringa was hit by tremors on Tuesday the most. The population of the central Croatian city is approximately 24,000.

Buildings collapsed. Debris filled the streets. According to a government news site, a woman was trapped under the rubble HINA.

Croatian soldiers clean rubble next to damaged buildings on Tuesday in Petrinia, a town of about 24,000 people.

Denis Lovrovich / AFP via Getty Images

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Croatian soldiers clean rubble next to damaged buildings on Tuesday in Petrinia, a town of about 24,000 people.

Denis Lovrovich / AFP via Getty Images

A 12-year-old girl was killed in Petringa And four other people in villages near town, The Associated Press reported. Officials said at least 20 people were hospitalized – two of them seriously.

“My city has been completely destroyed. We have dead children,” the Associated Press quoted the mayor of Petrenko Darenko Dombovic as saying. “This is like Hiroshima – half of the city no longer exists.”

Dembovic said that the townspeople were pulling people out of cars and were not aware of more dead or wounded. He said that a kindergarten had collapsed but that there were no children inside.

Buildings in Zagreb too It said Collapsed. There were no immediate reports of deaths in the city. It was a nuclear power plant in neighboring Slovenia Shuts down automatically Because of the earthquake. Reuters said the quake was felt in places as far away as Vienna, the capital of Austria.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic He said He was on his way to the area and rallying recovery efforts. President of the European Council Charles Michel He said The European Union “extends its full support and assistance to the people of Croatia”.

Tuesday’s earthquake comes just one day after a 5.0-magnitude earthquake.

There have been three earthquakes measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale within about 125 miles of the area since 1900 United States Geological Survey He said.